European Shares Decline On China COVID Worries

European stocks inched lower on Monday, with commodity-related stocks coming under selling pressure after China reported the first virus-related deaths recorded since May this year.

Risk sentiment was also hit by fears of a potential escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict following recent shelling around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has called for “urgent measures to help prevent a nuclear accident” in the Russian-occupied facility, of which it said parts were damaged but showed no signs of a radiation leak.

The pan European STOXX 600 dropped 0.3 percent to 432.21 after climbing 1.2 percent on Friday.

The German DAX gave up half a percent, France’s CAC 40 index slipped 0.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was down 0.2 percent.

Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore all dropped around 2 percent while energy stocks such as BP Plc and Shell were down over 1 percent each.

Virgin Money shares jumped more than 10 percent after the British lender reported better-than-expected full-year results and announced a £50 million ($59.4 million) share buyback program.

International Distribution Services, formerly Royal Mail, slumped 4.4 percent as more postal strikes loomed in the busy holiday period.

Commerzbank gained 0.7 percent. The German lender said on Saturday that former Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann would replace Helmut Gottschalk next year as head of its supervisory board.

Swiss engineering company ABB edged down slightly after announcing that its unit ABB E-mobility has signed a pre-IPO private placement of around 200 million Swiss francs for newly issued shares.

In economic releases, German producer price inflation eased more-than-expected in October to reach its lowest level in four months, data from Destatis showed.

Producer prices climbed 34.5 percent year-over-year in October, slower than the 45.8 percent surge in September. That was also well below the 41.5 percent rise expected by economists.

On a monthly basis, producer prices decreased 4.2 percent in October, reversing a 2.3 percent rise in September.

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