European stock index futures slide as coronavirus damage grows

(Reuters) – European stock index futures fell more than 3% on Wednesday as dismal economic data from Asia underlined the damage to the economy from the coronavirus pandemic and fanned fears of a deep global recession.

Figures on Wednesday showed factory activity contracting across most of Asia in March as the outbreak paralysed supply chains, with sharp falls in export power-houses Japan and South Korea.

Euro Stoxx 50 futures tumbled 3.3% at 0601 GMT following a rebound this week that was powered by aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus from around the world.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index <.stoxx> ended Tuesday with its worst quarter in 18 years as lockdown measures to contain the health crisis upended business activity, raising the threat of corporate defaults and mass layoffs.

German DAX futures were off 3.3%, while French CAC futures fell 3.1%.

FTSE 100 futures shed 3.4% as the number of deaths from the coronavirus in the United Kingdom rose by 27% in the space of a day.

(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)