European stocks hit by fears of new coronavirus wave

European stocks fell from a two-week high on Wednesday as investors turned cautious following a surge in the number of coronavirus cases globally.

The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 1.5%, with the economically sensitive sectors such as travel & leisure .SXTP, automakers .SXAP and banks .SX7P leading declines.

Germany’s DAX was down 1.9% despite Ifo institute’s survey showing the strongest rise ever recorded in the country’s business morale in June.

The top decliner on the STOXX 600 was Sweden’s Evolution Gaming Group AB, which fell 9.4% after it offered to buy NetEnt AB for 19.6 billion Swedish crowns ($2.12 billion). NetEnt’s shares jumped 27.5%.

German real estate company Leg Immobilien fell 3.4% after plans to launch a capital increase through stock and debt offering.

Austrian sensor maker AMS  rose 6.3% after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to “overweight” from “neutral”, while Dialog Semiconductor jumped 8.7% after raising its quarterly revenue outlook.