(Reuters) - European stock index futures tumbled on Monday, as investors returned from a May Day break to a fresh spat between the United States and China over the coronavirus crisis.
Euro STOXX 50 futures (STXEc1) fell 2.9% by 0644 GMT, suggesting a downbeat start in May after the STOXX 600 (STOXX) recorded a 6% gain in April.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday there was "a significant amount of evidence" that the new coronavirus emerged from a Chinese laboratory, ratcheting up tensions with the country after last week's warning from President Donald Trump of retaliatory measures against China over the pandemic.
China's Global Times said in an editorial that Pompeo was "bluffing," calling on the United States to present the evidence.
"Sentiment continues to be dented by geopolitics as the blame game ramps up," Mirabaud Securities' Mark Taylor wrote in a morning note.
"There has also be an air of optimism running ahead of itself despite continued reopening of various economies and Gilead's positive drug news."
European stocks climbed to a near two-month high last week as countries including Italy and Germany moved to restart their economies, while U.S. firm Gilead Sciences' (O:GILD) antiviral drug, remdesivir, was granted authorization by U.S. regulators for emergency use against COVID-19.
However, data released on Monday showed Asia's factory activity was ravaged in April, with a series of Purchasing Managers' indexes (PMIs) from IHS Markit falling deeper into contraction. Data out of Europe is due later in the day.
German stock futures (FDXc1) were down 2.8%, while France's CAC 40 (FCEc1) fell 3.2%. FTSE futures (FFIc1) dropped 0.2%.