(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Wall St choppy as Biden seen closer to victory
* Airlines hit as lockdown fears back on radar
* Insurers supported by earnings, M&A
* Richemont surges on Q2 improvement
(Updates to market close)
By Sruthi Shankar
Nov 6 (Reuters) - European stocks closed slightly lower on
Friday, taking the shine off a 7% rally this week as investors
focused on soaring coronavirus cases on the continent and
uncertainty around the U.S. presidential election.
The pan-European STOXX 600 slipped 0.2% after a
five-day winning streak that marked the index's best week since
early June.
Sparking a rally in global stocks, investors bet that
Democrat Joe Biden will become the next U.S. president but
Republicans will retain control of the Senate, potentially
delaying major policy changes including tighter scrutiny on big
American firms.
Wall Street stocks were, however, choppy on Friday as Biden
took the lead over President Donald Trump in the battleground
states of Pennsylvania and Georgia, putting him on the verge of
winning the White House.
A handful of states continue to count votes and Trump has
falsely claimed the election is being "stolen" from him.
"Nagging doubts remain that the eventual outcome may well
end up in the U.S. courts," Michael Hewson, chief market analyst
at CMC Markets wrote in a note. "For now, financial markets
don't appear too concerned, however it would still seem prudent
to take some money off the table as we head into the weekend."
Meanwhile, Italy registered its highest ever daily
coronavirus case tally, with the northern region of Lombardy
remaining the hardest hit area.
Airline Lufthansa dropped 6.9% as Germany warned
against unnecessary travel to Denmark, Italy and several other
countries.
British airline easyJet fell 2.6% after it said the
recently announced lockdowns in England, Germany and France had
forced it to further scale back its already reduced flying
schedule.
"Almost certainly, we could see double-dip recession in
parts of Europe," said Dhaval Joshi, European investment
strategist at BCA Research in London.
Automakers fell the most, down 1.7% after surging
this week on hopes that a Biden win could lead to a softer
stance on trade policies.
Insurers got a boost after Germany's Allianz
reported an surprise 6% rise in third-quarter net
profit.
A multi-billion dollar deal involving RSA, Canadian
insurer Intact Financial and Danish insurer Tryg
also lifted the sector.
Miners gained the most, up almost 2% as metals
prices rose in the wake of a weakening dollar.
Cartier jewellery maker Richemont jumped 8.9% as it
saw a marked improvement in the second quarter thanks to online
retail sales and China. Swatch Group gained
0.8% in sympathy.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh
Kuber and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Kirsten Donovan)
