European stocks, Asian shares fall

Gulf Today Report 

European stocks record a near one-month low on Thursday due to the surge in coronavirus cases and growing wary about the increase in more contagious coronavirus variants.

The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 1.9% while major regional bourses like Germany's DAX and France CAC 40 slid further into the red and UK's FTSE 100 held on to slim gains for the year.

Investors are sticking to loose monetary policy due to concerns about the slow pace of COVID-19 vaccine rollout more restrictions in Europe. 

In a note, Ian Williams, economics and strategy research analyst at Peel Hunt said, "with valuations at levels already pricing in much of the recovery from a pandemic that is far from over, these corrections are always possible." 

Technology stocks fell 2.6%, pulling back further from two-decade high hit earlier this year, while insurers, oil & gas and automakers stocks were the biggest sectoral decliners, falling almost 2.5%.

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Asian shares

Asian shares dropped on Thursday as reality check about the economic damage from the pandemic hits. 

Benchmarks in Japan, South Korea, Australia and China declined Thursday. 

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 1.5% to 28,197.42. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 1.9% to 6,649.70. South Korea's Kospi sank 1.7% to 3,069.05. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2.5% to 28,576.97, while the Shanghai Composite shed 1.9% to 3,505.18.

"Investors will likely focus on the pace of vaccinations around the globe while also keeping an eye on the progress of President Biden’s fiscal rescue plan that may be facing some roadblocks in the US Senate,” Prakash Sakpal and Nicholas Mapa, senior economists at ING, said in a report. 

The rollout of vaccine is slow-paced in Asia, in comparison to Europe with the ongoing tug of war for the products from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.