European Stocks Crumble as Scientists Warn of 2nd Outbreak and 120,000 Deaths by Winter

European stocks opened lower on Tuesday as coronavirus cases continued to spike in many countries around the world, while U.K. GDP for May came in lower than expected.

 

As of 15:43 local time in Thailand (GMT+7), DAX plunged 1.49%, FTSE dipped 0.51%, CAC dropped 1.72% and Stoxx600 fell 1.31%.

The total number of coronavirus cases surpassed 13 million on Monday with a quicker pace than the early spreading. It took about a week for each million between 9 million to 11 million, but the pace started to quicken in less than a week for the 12th and 13th.

 

Meanwhile, the Academy of Medical Science warned that the U.K. government must prepare for a potential new wave of coronavirus outbreak that could be more severe than the first outbreak. More importantly, the scientists also said that the death toll could hit 120,000 by this winter.

 

Early Tuesday, the official reported that U.K. GDP expanded by 1.8% in May, following a historic decline of 20.4% in April. However, the rise in May was far lower than the 5.5% expansion polled by Reuters.