European shares face worst quarter since pandemic-led carnage in early 2020

European shares fell on Thursday and were set for their worst quarter since the pandemic-led carnage in early 2020, as investors became increasingly wary of a global recession in the wake of hawkish central bank actions to tame rising inflation.

The continent-wide STOXX 600 index was down 1.4% by 0709 GMT, with France's CAC 40 index down 2.0% as preliminary official figures showed inflation climbed further from the previous month to a record 6.5%. The STOXX 600 fell for a second straight day after global central bank chiefs said bringing down high inflation around the world will be painful and could even crash growth.

Economy-linked sectors led to declines in early trading, with basic resources and automobiles down between 1.9% and 2.1%. Among single stocks, Uniper SE tumbled 17.5% after the German utility withdrew its outlook for the 2022 financial year due to gas supply restrictions from Gazprom.