European stocks back off 1-week high on renewed Omicron worries

European stocks fell on Friday, and gave up the 1-week high hit yesterday, on profit-taking and investors' risk aversion, amid renewed fears about the the coronavirus variant Omicron.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell more than 0.7% as of 09:15 GMT, after it closed higher by 1.2% yesterday, and hit a 1-week high at 479.04 points.

The automotive sector saw the largest loss in Europe today, with a drop of over 1.5%, as most major auto stocks fell.

New cases of the Omicron variant are doubling every two days in Denmark, South Africa and the UK, which has renewed concerns about the quick spread of the new coronavirus variant.

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen warned the government may impose further curbs to limit the spread of Omicron in the country, and companies in the US canceled their plans to return employees to their offices due to the widespread spread of the Omicron variant.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.5% today ahead of Wall Street's opening, after the index lower 0.9% due to profit-taking from a 3-week high.

Back to Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 0.7%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.7%, and Germany's DAX index fell 0.8%, while the UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.4%.