Major European stocks fell Wednesday due to concerns about lockdowns

Stocks indexes traded on the bearish territory in Europe on Wednesday due to investors’ concerns about lockdowns in Germany and France. Covid-19 infections are surging in Europe. The World Health Organization announced this week that authorities are well behind in the fight against coronavirus. The pan-European benchmark Stoxx 600 FXXP00, -2.87% tumbled down to its lowest level since May.

According to reports, Angela Merkel plans to advocate for a partial lockdown in Germany, closing restaurants and bars and banning public events. The chancellor has explained that the hospital system could be overwhelmed in the country, which had more than 13,000 new infection cases yesterday. As a result, Frankfurt’s DAX DAX, -3.88% index plummeted down by more than 3%.

Meanwhile, Paris’ CAC 40 FCE00, -3.41% also lowered by approximately 3%. Investors expect French President Emmanuel Macron to speak about new Covid-19 measures in a televised address on Wednesday night. In France, cases in the past week top 250,000. According to reports, the country could see a new national lockdown starting from Thursday night.

Possible lockdowns in France and Germany are just the latest reminder of the pace of the coronavirus’ resurgence in Europe. Countries like Spain and the U.K. are imposing emergency measures to fight the pandemic as well.

Millions of people are under local lockdowns in the U.K. The daily death toll hit its highest point since May in the country. In London, people are banned from socializing with anyone outside of their household. Furthermore, restaurants and bars must close by 10 p.m. In addition, Spain is also under a nationwide curfew between 11 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Unrest in Italy – people are protesting new restrictions

In Italy, panic is spreading. Anti-lockdown protesters took to the streets. They looted luxury fashion boutiques in Turin. Gucci KER, -5.43%, Apple AAPL, +1.34% and Louis Vuitton MC, -4.05%, were among the casualties in the latest round of civil unrest around the country.

In Milan, police with tear gas were mobilized against protesters, while thousands took to the streets in Naples. The government issued the order about closing bars and restaurants, as well as gyms and cinemas, taking effect Monday evening. This restriction caused the recent wave of protests.

However, Italy recorded almost 22,000 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday as the death toll hit the highest peak since May.

The country’s cabinet agreed on a new stimulus package on Tuesday to aid businesses hit by the economic impacts of the pandemic, including funds for temporary layoff schemes and tax breaks. The FTSE MIB I945, -3.41%, Borsa Italiana’s benchmark index, plummeted down by more than 2.5% on Wednesday.