(Reuters) – European stocks fell on Tuesday as the double whammy from a crash in U.S. crude to minus $40 per barrel and dismal first-quarter earnings reports spooked investors about the lasting damage to the global economy from the coronavirus pandemic.
BP Plc (L:), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (L:) and Total SA (PA:) fell between 3% and 4.0%, knocking 1.1% off the pan-European STOXX 600 () index at 0702 GMT. Miners () also tracked a decline in commodity prices. [MET/L]
All major European country indexes slipped a day after U.S. crude () plummeted to below zero for the first time in history with a wipeout in storage capacity causing traders to flee contracts that would deliver oil barrels to them in May. [O/R]
The benchmark STOXX 600 had recovered about 25% from a March trough on a return in risk appetite with unprecedented global stimulus, but remained about 22% away from record highs as companies scrapped dividends and withdrew financial forecasts to deal with the fallout of the pandemic.
Primark owner Associated British Foods (L:) fell 2% after saying it would not pay an interim dividend and could not provide a full-year earnings forecast for the fashion retailer.
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