Germany’s federal and state governments agreed on Wednesday to shut down parts of the economy and toughen restrictions on social contact, in a bid to stem a record rise in coronavirus infection rates.
As soaring infection rates stoked alarm across the continent, France’s president Emmanuel Macron will give a televised address to the nation on Wednesday evening. Stocks slumped to their lowest level since May.
The region-wide Stoxx 600 index fell 3 per cent on Wednesday and has lost more than 5 per cent since the end of last week as local markets in Frankfurt, Paris and London have endured bouts of selling. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index was down 3 per cent in afternoon trade.