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July 8 (Reuters) - European shares opened lower on
Wednesday, with banks and energy firms leading the declines as
surging coronavirus infections globally dimmed the prospect of a
swift economic recovery.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX fell 0.5% by 0714 GMT.
Banks .SX7P and energy firms .SXEPP slid more than 1%.
London-listed HSBC HSBA.L fell 3.5% after a report said
U.S. President Donald Trump's top advisers weighed proposals to
undermine the Hong Kong currency's peg to the U.S. dollar. The
proposal could possibly limit the ability of Hong Kong banks to
buy dollars. Market sentiment soured overnight on Wall Street as the U.S.
coronavirus outbreak crossed a grim milestone of over 3 million
confirmed cases on Tuesday, while the World Health Organization
acknowledged "evidence emerging" of the airborne spread of the
coronavirus. Finland's Nokia NOKIA.HE slumped 6.7% after JPMorgan
downgraded its stock to "neutral" on indications of a potential
loss of business with U.S. telecoms company Verizon VZ.N .
Europe's home appliance maker Electrolux ELUXb.ST jumped
5.1% after saying that it would report a smaller loss than
previously anticipated for the second quarter due to sales
growth in June and cost mitigation actions.