European stocks dive to 3-week low

European stocks fell on Tuesday, deepening losses for for the fourth straight session, and hit a 3-week low, due to profit-taking and investors' risk aversion amid fears over the coronavirus spread in Europe, and growing chances for the US Fed to tighten its monetary policy after the White House nominated Jerome Powell to serve as the chairman of the Federal Reserve.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell more than 1.1% as of 11:29 GMT, and hit the lowest since November 2 at 477.93 points, after it closed lower by 0.1% yesterday.

The tech sector saw the largest loss in Europe today, with a drop of over 2%, as most of the sector companies fell.

Austria has become the first European country to re-impose a complete lockdown to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus, which has renewed fears over the pandemic, and threatens to slowdown the economic recovery and fuel demand.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.5% today and hit a 2-week low ahead of Wall Street's opening, after the index closed lower by 0.3% yesterday due to profit-taking from a record high of 4,743.83 points.

The White House has formally nominated Jerome Powell to serve as the chairman of the Federal Reserve for a second term ending in 2026, and also Lael Brainard to serve as the Fed’s vice chair.

This step fueled expectations that the central bank will maintain its monetary policy as the economy recovers from the pandemic, amid increased bets that of an interest rate hike in 2022.

Back to Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 1.1%, France's CAC 40 fell 1%, and Germany's DAX index fell 1.2%, while the UK's FTSE 100 fell 0.7%.