London's blue-chip index was weighed down by HSBC tumbling 3 per cent after Bloomberg reported that US President Donald Trump's top advisers had considered measures to undermine the Hong Kong currency's peg to the US dollar. The proposal could potentially limit the ability of Hong Kong banks to buy dollars.
Pressuring hopes for global recovery, US coronavirus outbreak crossed a grim milestone of over 3 million confirmed cases, while the World Health Organization acknowledged"evidence emerging" that the virus could spread through the air. Analysts expect companies listed on the Stoxx 600 to report a 53.9 per cent decline in profit in the second quarter, according to Refinitiv data.