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July 19 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Monday, led by travel stocks, on worries that the fast-spreading Delta variant could hamper travel demand and slow the ongoing global economic recovery.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1.2% by 0708 GMT, hitting its lowest in almost two weeks.
The German DAX dropped 1.1% and France’s CAC 40 declined 1.2%. UK’s FTSE 100 was down 1.3% as rising virus cases overshadowed optimism about England’s reopening.
Travel and leisure stocks dropped 2.3%. Britain’s government said on Friday it was scrapping a planned relaxation of COVID-19 quarantine rules for travellers from France.
UK-listed shares of cruise operator Carnival Plc, airlines easyJet and British Airways-owner IAG all fell between 4% and 6.5% in early trading.
Oil majors like BP and Royal Dutch Shell fell more than 1.5%, hit by falling crude prices after OPEC+ agreed to boost output. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

Source: Reuters

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