European stocks fell on Friday as investors remained on edge over drawn-out vote counting in the U.S. presidential election.
As votes continued to be counted and Democrat Joe Biden edges closer to victory, the Trump team is pressing legal challenges in several states.
Market participants also kept an eye on rising Covid-19 infections on both sides of the Atlantic.
The United States has surpassed 100,000 new coronavirus infections for the second day in a row on Thursday.
France posted a record number of new virus cases and Italy also registered its highest ever daily tally as several European countries reintroduce lockdown measures.
Denmark is killing its large mink population after discovering a coronavirus mutation that can spread to humans.
The pan European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.8 percent to 364.34, snapping a five-day winning streak. The German DAX lost 1.2 percent, France's CAC 40 index fell over 1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.7 percent.
French insurer SCOR soared 5.5 percent after reporting an increase in gross written premiums in the third quarter.
Air France KLM slumped 4.4 percent. The Franco-Dutch airline holding company has announced the final approval of the 3.4 billion euros loan package by the Dutch state. KLM and the eight trade unions have satisfied a key requirement, ensuring final approval of the loan package.
Royal Philips NV lost 1 percent. The company said it targets to deliver approximately 10 percent adjusted earnings per share growth annually.
Shares of Compagnie Financiere-Richemont jumped 8 percent. After posting a sharp fall in first-half profits, the Swiss luxury conglomerate said it saw some positive trends in the second quarter.
German insurer Allianz was little changed after posting an unexpected 6 percent rise in Q3 net profit.
Internet services company United Internet fell 3 percent after cutting its full-year sales growth outlook.
Lighting manufacturer Osram Licht declined 1.2 percent after it reported a net loss in the fourth quarter.
British housebuilder Redrow advanced 2.7 percent. The company said it expects to reinstate dividend payments at the half year and to be cash positive for the remainder of the financial year.
Shares of James Fisher & Sons plunged as much as 16 percent. The marine engineering services provider said that it did not see the improvement to trading conditions and the seasonal uplift it had been anticipating in the three months ended September 30.
Airline EasyJet tumbled 4.3 percent after announcing it has sold and leased back 11 aircraft with two counterparties.
Premier Foods rose over 1 percent. The company said it has sold its 49 percent stake in bread maker Hovis to U.K. private equity firm Endless.
RSA Insurance Group lost 2 percent after receiving a 7.1 billion-pound ($9.3 billion) takeover proposal from a two-headed consortium.
AVEVA Group tumbled 3.5 percent after it announced an underwritten rights issue to raise gross proceeds of about 2.835 billion pounds to partly fund the acquisition of OSIsoft.
In economic releases, German industrial output climbed 1.6 percent month on month in September, bigger than the 0.5 percent rise seen in August but slower than economists' forecast of 2.7 percent, official data showed.
French trade deficit declined to a five-month low of EUR 5.75 billion in September from EUR 7.7 billion in August, data from customs office revealed. In the same period last year, the shortfall was EUR 5.11 billion.
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