European stocks fall to 1-week low led by automotive sector

European stocks fell on Wednesday, and hit a 1-week low while on the cusp of the second daily loss in 3 days led by auto stocks, due to concerns over the spread of the highly contagious Covid-19 delta strain in Europe.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 1.1 as of 10:55 GMT, and hit the lowest level since June 21 at 451.23 points, after closing higher by 0.3% yesterday.

The automotive sector saw the largest loss in Europe today, with a drop of more than 2.5%, after a sharp decline in Porsche shares.

The outbreak of the highly contagious Covid-19 delta strain led to new movement restrictions around the world, especially in Asia, as most major Asian countries started to tighten lockdown restrictions.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.4% today ahead of Wall Street's opening, after the index ended higher by less than 0.1% yesterday and posted a new record at 4,300.52 points.

Back to Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 1.1%, France's CAC 40 fell 1%, Germany's DAX index fell 1.5%, and the UK's FTSE 100 fell more than 0.9%.