LONDON (Reuters) – European shares on Monday posted their biggest one-day decline since late November, as rising bond yields weighed on the technology sector and the rapid spread of the mutated Omicron strain of the coronavirus also weighed on sentiment.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 1.5 percent lower, with technology shares falling 3.6 percent, to its lowest level in nearly three months. Most European sectors experienced losses.
Rising bond yields in Europe and the United States were the main driver behind the decline in stocks, as investors await the end of pandemic-era liquidity support measures in the wake of rising inflation.
Shares of Carriage Bank jumped 1.0 percent after a report that BBER Banca, Italy’s fifth-largest bank, had made an improved bid to buy it to outpace rival Credit Agricole Italy’s.
BMW shares rose 1.7 percent after Goldman Sachs upgraded the company’s buy recommendation, saying the merger of the Brilliance Automotive joint venture should lead to profit growth this year and next.
Shares in French technology consultancy Atos fell 16.8 percent after it issued a profit warning that reflects delayed deals for clients and puts pressure on the margins of its hardware and software reseller.
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