Europe: Stocks sink more than 1% at open

[LONDON] European stock markets sank at the start of trading on Wednesday hit by fears of a second wave of the coronavirus and news of the shrinking UK economy.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index shed 1.01 per cent to 5,934.47 points, as official data showed the British economy contracted by 2.0 per cent in the first quarter on the back of the Covid-19 outbreak.

In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index lost 1.5 per cent to 10,656.76 points and the Paris CAC 40 dropped 1.4 per cent to 4,409.87.

AFP