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April 1 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Wednesday in
their first trading session of the quarter, as dismal economic
data from Asia underpinned the ongoing damage from the
coronavirus pandemic and fanned fears of a deep global
recession.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX was down 2.4% at
0705 GMT, after ending Tuesday with its worst quarter in 18
years as lockdown measures to contain the virus outbreak upended
business activity, raising the threat of corporate defaults and
mass layoffs.
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 overshadowing a modest improvement in China. London's blue-chip FTSE 100 .FTSE shed 2.5%, with
financials .FTNMX8350 slumping 7% as a number of UK banks
joined European peers in suspending dividend payments to shore
up liquidity.