European Stocks Sharply Lower; Covid Fears Overshadow Healthy PMIs

European stock markets traded sharply lower Tuesday, with the latest surge of Covid-19 cases on the continent weighing on sentiment as further lockdowns loom. At 3:45 AM ET (0845 GMT), the DAX in Germany traded 1.3% lower, the CAC 40 in France also fell 1.3% and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.6%. Austria reintroduced a national lockdown on Monday to combat a fresh surge in Covid-19 cases, and this has investors fretting that neighboring Germany, the main growth engine for the Eurozone, will shortly follow suit.