European markets retreat as omicron Covid variant fears return; Stoxx 600 down 1.6%

LONDON — European stocks pulled back on Thursday as concerns persisted over the omicron Covid variant.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 fell 1.6% by mid-afternoon, with tech stocks plunging 4.1% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses slid well into the red

Major markets across Asia-Pacific and the U.S. had bounced back Wednesday despite fears about the new variant and the Federal Reserve mulling a quicker-than-planned taper

But global stocks appear to be struggling to regain momentum amid continuing uncertainty around the risks posed by the new omicron Covid variant, first spotted in South Africa last week and designated a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization

The WHO said on Wednesday that at least 23 countries from five of six WHO regions have now reported cases of omicron, “and we expect that number to grow.” It also noted that hospitalizations are rising across South Africa, but said it’s still too early to know whether the omicron variant is driving an increase in severe Covid-19 cases

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Thursday while U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open, after selling off on Wednesday as the CDC confirmed the first known case of the omicron variant in the U.S.. The first case of the heavily mutated variant was detected in northern California

On the data front, euro zone producer prices surged 5.4% month-on-month in October, Eurostat figures revealed on Wednesday, for an annual climb of 21.9%

Meanwhile the jobless rate across the common currency bloc continued to fall, coming in at 7.3% of the workforce in October after, down from 7.4% in September