The pan-European STOXX 600 stock index fell 1.4 percent to a two-week low in Monday’s trading. This is due to growing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus variant of omicron, which is gradually gaining momentum.
The biggest drop ever was recorded by the Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s DAX index, which lost 1.88 percent. The Vienna Stock Exchange ended 1.4 percent lower, while the Milan Stock Exchange wrote down 1.58 percent. Other major trading floors in Western Europe recorded losses of up to one percent.
The decline was dominated by mining titles, as well as car manufacturers and companies operating in the tourism industry. These were mostly shares of companies that would be most affected by the possible introduction of anti-epidemic measures as a result of the spread of the coronavirus variant of omicron.
Some support was the news coming from the pharmaceutical company Moderna, which claims that the booster dose of its vaccine promises solid protection against omicron. So far, however, these are only the results of laboratory tests.
Some states have already stepped up their anti-epidemic measures. The Netherlands, for example, has already declared its fourth lockdown since the pandemic began. Other countries are also considering similar restrictions, according to Reuters.
