Paris (AFP)

The tightening of restrictions in the face of the second wave of Covid-19 this week caused a new wave of fear on the stock markets in Europe and across the Atlantic, after the fears of March.

No one was spared: -8.6% in Frankfurt, -7.0% in Milan, -4.8% in London, -6.4% in Paris ... at the close on Friday.

On Wall Street, where growing concerns about the US presidential election of November 3 have also been grafted, the Dow Jones lost almost 6.5% and the Nasdaq, with a strong technological coloring, nearly 5.5%, wiping their worst week and month since March.

The EuroStoxx 50, made up of the biggest European stocks, lost 7.5%, again the biggest drop since March.

The indices turned bright red as the announcements of economic restrictions became imminent.

The peak of the tension took place on Wednesday, just before the French and German announcements, and spread to all other world places, from Asia to Wall Street.

In the United States, the "fear index", the VIX, reflecting market volatility, returned Wednesday to its highest for four months.

While their eyes were already on the return of growth and relative serenity, investors felt the earth tremble again, "a response after the epicenter of stress in February-March", summarizes Alexandre Baradez , analyst at IG France.

- Tech caught up -

The sectors most damaged by the first wave still suffered the horrors of the pandemic at the beginning of the week.

The three banks of the Parisian CAC 40 index, Crédit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Société Générale, whose prices were recovering their heads, plummeted again, each losing about 10%.

Industry, tourism and commodity-related values, including oil, suffered greatly, amid fears of a massive drop in demand.

Already at its lowest, Total fell another 8%, and BP nearly 4.5% in London.

The epidemic completely overshadowed the generally reassuring results recorded by these companies in the third quarter, in a once again open economy.

This second wave spares no one, not even the big winners of the health crisis, the technological companies, finally caught up by the consequences of the economic slowdown.

In the United States, investors focused on the negative aspects of the forecasts of companies plunging Facebook (-6.31%), Amazon (-5.45%) and especially Twitter (-21.11%).

The German software giant SAP was cut by a quarter of its valuation over the week, after announcing fears that the crisis would ultimately slow down orders from its customers.

Atos, which dropped 10% or Worldline with -9% in France, also slowed down sharply.

- Do not panic -

However, the markets have not lost ground.

"There were no massive sales linked to a panic," notes Mikael Jacoby, Continental Europe brokerage manager at Oddo Securities.

Markets had lost up to 20% of their value in one week at the height of the March crisis.

"We are experimenting with something already known, and confinement in France is felt to be less restrictive," he continues.

Above all, the markets have been reassured by the position of the European Central Bank (ECB), whose measures have served as a safety net in the markets since March.

The president of the institution Christine Lagarde clearly hinted that additional measures would be taken at her next meeting in December.

Even with a danger temporarily removed, caution remains a few days before the US presidential election on Tuesday.

"Uncertainty is the big word," summed up Maris Ogg of Tower Bridge Advisors.

"We are uncertain on multiple fronts, with the elections, with the virus in Europe, without forgetting that Europe is only two or three weeks ahead of us" in terms of the evolution of the epidemic , added this American analyst.

© 2020 AFP