European shares fell on Friday as nervousness around rising Covid-19 infections and US inflation reading due later in the day kept sentiment in check.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.4 per cent in early trading, tracking broader risk-off moves in global equities.
Tech stocks led losses with a 1 per cent drag. Food delivery companies Deliveroo and Just Eat Takeaway slipped more than 1 per cent each, adding to losses in the past week on worries that a European Commission ruling on gig economy drivers would hurt profits.
Investor focus is on the US consumer price print for November for hints on the case for a faster Federal Reserve taper and interest rate hikes.
Daimler Truck opened at €28 per share after its market debut on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Daimler AG plunged 17.4 per cent in early trade.
Shares of Bayer rose 1.6 per cent after the chemical giant won a second straight verdict in a Roundup cancer case.
Tobacco group Swedish Match jumped 6 per cent after the Wall Street Journal reported that Democrats dropped a proposed vaping tax that would have taxed e-cigarettes like regular ones.
Euro zone bonds calmed on Friday after two sessions of volatility.
Germany’s 10-year yield was up less than a basis point to -0.34 per cent. Italy’s 10-year yield was unchanged at 100 per cent, with the closely watched gap between Italian and German 10-year yields holding at 133 bps, after rising near the highest in a year at 136 bps on Thursday.
- Reuters
