Name: European travel stocks slump amid rising concerns over second wave of coronavirus as M&A chatter lifts Covestro
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European travel stocks slump amid rising concerns over second wave of coronavirus as M&A chatter lifts Covestro

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European stocks slipped on Friday with investor concern growing over a worsening second wave of coronavirus cases in the region denting the travel sector. Meanwhile, deal news was moving shares of Covestro, Euronext and CaixaBank.The Stoxx Europe 600was flat on the heels of a 0.5% drop on Thursday that snapped a four-day winning streak. The week is headed for a gain of around 1%, as of Thursday. The German DAXand French CAC 40fell 0.1% each, while the FTSE 100 indexdropped 0.3%. U.S. stock futureswere flat, though Nasdaq-100 futurespointed to a rebound for technology stocks. Wall Street stocks , with the Dowsnapping a four-day winning streak, though indexes closed off the day’s worst levels. A downbeat outlook from the Federal Reserve and lackluster data were factors. “While market sentiment remains fragile, we believe that the fundamentals behind the rally are still in place and we are not expecting the recent sell-off in the U.S. as a start of a bear market. In our Cross-asset portfolio, we are keeping our long bias on European stocks,” said Benedict Lowe, cross asset strategist at BNP Paribas, London branch, in a note to clients. Pandemic worries were rising in Europe. Dr. Hans Kluge, regional director of The World Health Organization in Europe, on Thursday warned of an alarming rise in coronavirus cases in the region. Urging quarantines, he said weekly cases “have exceeded those reported when the pandemic first peaked in Europe in March,” . “We do have a very serious situation unfolding before us,” said Kluge.One of the worst-affected countries in the first wave, Spain, is in the grips of a second wave, with its Madrid region and home of the country’s capital city, hard hit by rising cases. The government is expected to announce new restrictions on Friday to try and curb the outbreak. And more than 10 million people across northeast England are under lockdowns due to rising infection rates. Travel and tourism-related stocks fell across the region, with shares of International Conslidated Airlines Groupdown 7%, those of easyJet PLCdown nearly 6% and InterContinental Hotels Group PLCfalling around 4%. Shares of German airport operator Fraportslid over 5%. Spain was also the site of major merger news on Friday. The boards of CaixaBank SAand Bankia SAthat will create Spain’s biggest domestic lender, with assets of more than 650 billion euros ($770.22 billion). Shares of CaixaBank rose 0.5% and those of Bankia fell 1.8%. Under the terms of the agreement, Caixa will absorb Bankia, whose shareholders will get 0.68 shares in Caixa for each share they own. That represents a premium of 20% based on Bankia’s share price on Sept. 3, but some analysts had been speculating over a premum of 40%. The Spain IBEX 35 index dropped 1%, with shares of heavily weighed Banco Santanderand BBVA SAdown 2% or more each, and an over 2% drop for Inditexwhich owns retail chains such as Zara and Bershka. Elsewhere, shares of Covestro AGclimbed over 6% after that buyout firm Apollo Global Management is mulling a takeover of the plastics maker, citing sources. Covestro declined to comment and a source at Apollo couldn’t immediately be reached, the report said. And shares of Euronext NVclimbed 3.9% after the London Stock Exchange Group PLCsaid that it has entered talks with the exchange group for the sale of Italy’s Borsa Italiana. LSE shares rose 0.5%.The bearish crowd has gotten more bearish, says a new survey from Deutsche Bank.SearchVisit a quote page and your recently viewed tickers will be displayed here.Search TickersNo results found

European stocks slipped on Friday with investor concern growing over a worsening second wave of coronavirus cases in the region denting the travel sector. Meanwhile, deal news was moving shares of Covestro, Euronext and CaixaBank.The Stoxx Europe 600was flat on the heels of a 0.5% drop on Thursday that snapped a four-day winning streak. The week is headed for a gain of around 1%, as of Thursday. The German DAXand French CAC 40fell 0.1% each, while the FTSE 100 indexdropped 0.3%. U.S. stock futureswere flat, though Nasdaq-100 futurespointed to a rebound for technology stocks. Wall Street...

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Senior reporter/editor for MarketWatch on the red-eye premarket. Mom, Jayhawk. Once upon a time a blue check. #IStandWithEvan bkollmeyer@marketwatch.com

Barbara Kollmeyer

MarketWatch is a website that provides financial information, business news, analysis, and stock market data. Along with The Wall Street Journal and Barron's, it is a subsidiary of Dow Jones & Company, a property of News Corp. Notable contributors include Mark Hulbert and Francine McKenna.

European travel stocks slump amid rising concerns over second wave of coronavirus as M&A chatter lifts Covestro

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