Europe open: Stocks drift lower amid coronavirus concerns

(Sharecast News) - Stocks across the Continent have started the week lower, weighed down by the news of the continued rise in the number of cases of the new Chinese coronavirus.
And overnight, the head of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he was worried by instances of the virus in people who hadn't traveled to China, a possible indication of more widespread transmission in other countries.

The toll on the Asian giant's economy was also rising, with Neil Shearing at Capital Economics slashing his forecast for the year-on-year rate of economic growth in China from 5.0% to 3.0%.

"A quiet day for economic data will ensure that virus concerns remain front-and-centre for traders. That should ensure demand for havens, as proven by early gains in the yen, gold, and dollar," said IG market analyst Josh Mahony.

As of 1021 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was trading lower by 0.25% to 423.30, alongside a 0.42% dip to 13,457.04 on the German Dax, but Milan's FTSE Mibtel was up by 0.04% at 24,488.50.

Irish stocks were especially weak, with the ISEQ All-Share retreating by 1.02% to 7,078.71 following a strong showing for Sinn Fein in Ireland's election at the weekend.

Out on the Stoxx 600 meanwhile, stock in Bank of Ireland Group and AIB Group were the worst performers, with each falling by almost 6%.

On a more upbeat note, the Sentix institute's euro area investor sentiment index dipped from a reading of 7.6 for January to 5.2 in February (consensus: 5.9).

"This is the first survey in the Eurozone to fully reflect the coronavirus-scare, and it is showing few signs of a setback," Pantheon Macroeconomics's Claus Vistesen wrote in a research note to clients.

The latest reading on industrial production in Italy however made for grim reading, with ISTAT reporting that it shrank at a month-on-month pace of 2.6% (consensus: -0.6%).