European Stocks Falling on Turkish Lira And Extension of Germany’s Closure

European stocks retreated due to the drop in the Turkish lira and concerns about extending public isolation measures in Germany, while bank and travel companies took the biggest blow.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.5%, falling for a second consecutive session after hitting a year high last week.

Global sentiment took a hit as the Turkish lira plunged to a low level after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sacked the central bank governor who had tended to tighten monetary and replaced him with a critic of raising interest rates.

Shares of eurozone banks exposed to the state, such as Spain’s BBVA, Italy’s UniCredit, France’s BNP Paribas and Dutch bank ING, fell between 1.6% and 5.2%.

Travel stocks also declined, as a draft proposal reviewed by Reuters showed that Germany is in the process of extending the general isolation measures aimed at containing the Covid-19 pandemic for the fifth month.

The German DAX index fell 0.5%, the French CAC 40 index fell 0.9%, and the British FTSE 100 index fell 0.8%.

British retailer King Fisher, home repair equipment, rose 3.6% after it reported a 44% jump in full-year profits, driven by the boom in “do it yourself” projects.