European stock futures slump 2% on report France mulling national lockdown

(Reuters) – European stock futures dropped to a fresh five-month low on Wednesday after a report France was mulling a month-long national lockdown to combat a surge in coronavirus infections.

Euro Stoxx 50 futures were off 2% at 0728 GMT, while German DAX futures shed 1.9% and UK’s FTSE futures dropped 1.4%. Wall Street futures were down about 1%.

French President Emmanuel Macron will give a televised address later in the evening, his office said.

Europe’s third-largest economy reported 523 new deaths from coronavirus over the past 24 hours, the highest daily toll since April 22, while United Kingdom recorded 367 deaths on Tuesday, the highest daily toll since May 27.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)