European shares drop as commodity stocks and virus surge press on

Following week-long gains capped by reaching 10-month highs, European shares dropped on Monday. This is after surging COVID-19 infections and commodity stocks downturn weighed on Europe’s stocks.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.1%; Germany’s DAX index was down 0.4% and France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.2%. The latter’s loss was slightly due to a technical issue affecting trading on futures contracts linked to CAC 40.

Mining stocks fell 0.4% as the dollar’s gain weighed on commodity prices.

Majority of the countries in the European region, including Germany, reported a rise in coronavirus cases while China posted its highest daily increase in coronavirus infections in nearly six months.

Oil elites BP, Royal Dutch Shell, and Total incurred losses as oil prices fell due to rekindling global fuel demand concerns amid coronavirus crises.