Key Points: The World Health Organization said the number of newly-reported cases globally hit a daily record this week.Markets in Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Sweden & Denmark are closed for the Ascension Day public holiday.
European stocks declined on Thursday morning, ahead of flash purchasing manager's index (PMI) data for the euro zone, which will give an indication of activity in the region's manufacturing and services industry in May.
Germany's DAX index and France's CAC 40 each fell by 1.2% while Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.8% lower. Due to the Ascension Day public holiday, markets are closed in Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
Aside from the PMI numbers from the euro zone, investors will also be following the latest coronavirus news. The World Health Organization said the number of newly-reported cases globally hit a daily record this week, despite authorities around the world attempting to ease lockdown measures put in place to curb the virus' spread.
Markets had been boosted earlier in the week after Moderna announced a positive development for a potential coronavirus vaccine. On Wednesday, in response to a STAT News report that vaccine experts were skeptical of Moderna's new data, the firm's chairman told CNBC that it would never put out data on its potential vaccine that was different from "reality."
Shares in Asia Pacific were little changed in Thursday afternoon trade while oil prices edged higher on Thursday after data showed U.S. crude inventories fell again, easing concerns about a supply glut.
The IHS Markit euro zone PMI data is due at 09:00 a.m. London time.
At the top of the Stoxx 600, Lufthansa shares surged more than 6% after the German carrier announced that it was in talks over a $10 billion state rescue deal.
原文地址：https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/21/european-markets-focus-on-euro-zone-flash-pmi-data-for-may.html