STOXX fell 1% to a one-month low, on rising infections in the United States and Europe and fading hopes of a U.S. stimulus package before the presidential election. European Central Bank is widely expected to stand pat until the next meeting. Macro forecasts won’t be updated until the December 10 meeting, but the bank will have to acknowledge the deteriorating outlook now. Lockdown light in Europe’s largest economy that would mainly focus on the closure of bars and restaurants to slow down a second wave of infections.
Shares in oil major BP BP. L fell 2.1%. The company swung back to a small profit in the third quarter, but also warned of pandemic-related uncertainties. Europe’s oil and gas sector index. SXEP touched its lowest level in seven months. Spanish bank Santander SAN.MC closed down 1.3% as it tracked broader negative investor sentiment in the market. It had earlier in the day logged gains of up to 5% after saying it expects 2020 core profit to beat market expectations, helped by additional cost savings of 1 billion euros. Spain’s IBEX.IBEX index fell 2.1%, also on worries about the economic impact of coronavirus-related curbs. Third-quarter earnings from Europe remain largely positive. Out of the 27% of the STOXX 600 companies that have reported so far, 73% have beat profit expectations, according to Refinitiv data. French consulting and IT services provider Capgemini CAPP.PA jumped 2.1% after confirming its full-year targets. Tobacco group Swedish Match SWMA.ST climbed 3.5% as it reported a bigger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on the back of higher sales of smokeless products. Miners. SXPP fell 1.4%, dragging markets lower, after Liberum analysts downgraded stocks of Rio Tinto RIO.L, Antofagasta ANTO.L and KAZ Minerals KAZ.L.