(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon
news window)
* Commerzbank, ABN Amro swing to Q1 loss, shares drop
* Italy's Exor drops as Covea ditches deal to buy PartnerRe
* STOXX 600 profits expected to decline 46.7% in Q2
(Adds details, updates prices)
By Sruthi Shankar
May 13 (Reuters) - Travel stocks, automakers and banks led a
slide in European shares on Wednesday as fears of a resurgence
in coronavirus cases and a worrying outlook from the U.S.
central bank chief dented hopes of a swift economic recovery.
The pan-European STOXX index .STOXX fell 1.9% to hit a
one-week low, with losses deepening after U.S. Federal Reserve
Chair Jerome Powell warned of an "extended period" of weak
growth and stagnant incomes due to the health crisis.
Europe's hard-hit travel & leisure index .SXTP and auto
stocks .SXAP fell 5% each, while banking shares .SX7P slid
3.7%.
A batch of weak earnings reports added to the gloom.
Shares in Germany's Commerzbank CBKG.DE fell 7.1% and
Dutch bank ABN Amro ABNd.AS dropped 9.1% after swinging to a
loss in the first quarter as the pandemic drove up loan loss
provisions. Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE sank 6.4% on news that top managers
will waive one month of fixed pay in an effort to cut costs.
UK-based luxury carmaker Aston Martin AML.L plummeted 16%
as it posted a deep first-quarter loss after sales dropped by
nearly a third due to the impact of the coronavirus crisis.
European shares have reversed some of the strong recovery
gains made in April, as South Korea, Germany and China reported
a rise in infections after easing their restrictions and a top
U.S. health expert warned against easing lockdowns too soon.
"The correction could continue for a few weeks," said Simona
Gambarini, markets economist at Capital Economics. "There are
worries about easing of lockdowns being premature in certain
countries, a second wave of contagion, weak economic data and
tensions between the U.S. and China."
A leading U.S. Republican senator on Tuesday proposed
legislation that would authorize President Donald Trump to
impose sanctions on China if it fails to give a full account of
events leading to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Sensor producer AMS AMS.S slumped 8.7% after saying that
it planned another capital increase to finance the takeover of
Osram OSRn.DE . Shares in Exor EXOR.MI , the holding firm of Italy's
Agnelli family, fell 7.2% after French insurer Covea walked away
from its planned $9 billion purchase of PartnerRe, the
Bermuda-based reinsurer owned by Exor. Earnings expectations are deteriorating sharply in Europe,
with companies listed on the STOXX 600 now expected to report a
collective drop of 46.7% in earnings in the second quarter, down
from a fall of 44.9% forecast the week before.