European stocks sluggish as COVID-19 cases rise
Reuters
Published Sep 25, 2020 08:55
(Reuters) - Telecom stocks nudged European stocks slightly higher on Friday, but the main indexes were on course for sharp weekly declines as the continent grapples with a fresh wave of COVID-19 cases.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index (STOXX) rose 0.2% by 0715 GMT, with telecom stocks (SXKP) jumping 0.8% to lead sectoral gains.
Spanish telephone operator MasMovil (MC:MASM) rose 0.7% after a local newspaper reported that Vodafone (L:VOD) has started talks to buy the company. Vodafone gained 1.3%.
France's CAC40 (FCHI) fell 0.4% after the country set a new record of daily COVID-19 infections and prime minister warned on Thursday that the government could be forced to reconfine areas.
The German DAX (GDAXI) slipped 0.3% and UK's FTSE 100 (FTSE) was flat.
In a volatile week marked by worries about coronavirus restrictions hampering the European economic recovery and continued unwinding of bullish bets in U.S. tech firms, the STOXX 600 benchmark was set for its worst week in over three months.
Paris Match publisher Lagardere (PA:LAGA) surged 10.4% after billionaire Bernard Arnault revealed he had built up a direct stake in the firm, which is under siege from several other investors.
Get The App
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.