In Monday's trading, key European indices are showing a spectacular negative trend amid large-scale sell-offs in global stock markets.
The STOXX Europe 600 index of key companies in Europe fell by 2.2% to 443.4 points.
The British FTSE 100 was down 2.3%, the French CAC 40 lost 2.6%, the German DAX fell 1.9%, the Italian FTSE MIB declined 2.2% and the Spanish IBEX 35 dropped 1.3%.
Leading Asia-Pacific stock indices also closed today in a significant negative territory on news of Friday's decline in the US stock market as well as a negative assessment of the impact of hard lockdowns on the Chinese economy.
US stock market indicators tumbled 2.5 to 2.8% in Friday's trading due to investor concerns over the prospects of a tightening of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy.
Dutch consumer goods and medical equipment maker Royal Philips NV's securities fell 9.4% in trading on European exchanges Monday. The company posted a net loss in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, while its revenue rose 2%, better than analysts' forecasts.
Swiss pharmaceutical holding company Roche Holding AG sank 1.7% despite a 10% increase in revenue in the first quarter. Earlier, the company's management said it expected sales of products related to COVID-19 diseases to decline by 2 billion Swiss francs that year.
The share price of French media conglomerate Vivendi SE rose 0.1%. The company's revenues jumped 13.4% in the quarter on the back of the strong performance of the Havas Group's advertising business.
The main downward factor for stock markets on Monday continues to be investor worries about the prospects of monetary policy tightening by the world's leading central banks.
Additional pressure on exchanges comes from the protracted military conflict in eastern Europe, as well as a persistent rise in inflation and a tense epidemiological situation due to the coronavirus pandemic in China.
The combination of the mentioned negative factors outweighed the news of Emmanuel Macron's re-election as President of France, which investors see as a boost to the markets.
According to official figures from the French Interior Ministry, the incumbent president won 58.55% of the votes in the second round of the presidential election. His opponent Marine Le Pen won 41.45% of the vote. As part of her election programme, Le Pen advocated weakening France's ties with the European Union and NATO, as well as imposing sanctions on energy supplies from Russia.
European stock indices declined sharply in Friday's trading on the back of corporate reports from the region's leading companies and the prospect of monetary tightening by global central banks.
The STOXX Europe 600 index of key companies in Europe, for example, fell by 1.8% to 453.31 points.
Securities of global Swedish hygiene and health care company Essity were the top performer among STOXX Europe 600 components. On Friday, the manufacturer reported a 24.6% increase in revenues in the first quarter of 2022 to SEK 34.3bn. Following this, the company's shares instantly soared by 14.2%. In addition, the day before, Essity's management announced that it would cease operations on the Russian market due to deteriorating business conditions.
The STOXX Europe 600 was also led by the UK multinational home improvement and repair company Homeserve (+15%) and French computer games developer Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. (+11,2%).
The shares of biotech Sartorius Stedim Biotech S.A. (-8%), medical Siemens Healthineers AG (-7%) and the Polish copper and silver producer KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. (-6,8%) were the lowest performers here.
The British FTSE 100 was down 1.4%, the French CAC 40 lost 2.0%, the German DAX fell 2.5%, the Italian FTSE MIB declined 2.1% and the Spanish IBEX 35 dropped 1.8%.
The day before, market participants analyzed US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's statement about a possible 50-basis-point increase in the benchmark interest rate at the regulator's May meeting.
On Friday, leading Euroregion companies such as Volvo, SAP, Renault and Holcim reported their financial results for the first quarter of 2022.
