European stocks fall for second straight session

European stocks fell on Tuesday, deepening losses for the second straight day, and pulled back further from their all-time highs, due to profit-taking and investors' risk aversion, amid concerns about the coronavirus, and mounting geopolitical tensions in Afghanistan.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell more than 0.3% as of 10:45 GMT, after it closed lower by 0.5% yesterday, on profit taking from its all-time high at 476.16 points.

The automotive sector saw the largest loss in Europe today, with a drop of over 1%, due to concerns about economic conditions in China.

Rising Covid-19 cases in Asia and most parts of the world, and the mounting geopolitical tensions after the Afghan government collapsed and the Taliban taking over Afghanistan, forced investors to avoid risky assets.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.4% today ahead of Wall Street's opening, after the index closed higher by 0.3% yesterday, and posted a new record at 4,480.26 points.

Back to Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 0.4%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.7%, Germany's DAX index fell 0.3%, and the UK's FTSE 100 fell more than 0.1%.