German stocks were little changed on Monday as renewed virus and vaccine fears dented hopes for a swift economic recovery.
Over the weekend, China's top disease control official has said that the effectiveness of Chinese coronavirus vaccines was low and authorities are considering options to bolster protection.
India has recorded a massive surge of 168,912 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, breaking all records.
Tokyo began today a month-long period of quasi-emergency measures to blunt a fourth wave of contagion.
Closer home, protests against Covid-19 restrictions were held in multiple European capitals on Saturday.
In the U.S., Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in an interview that the economy "has brightened substantially" due to faster vaccinations and intensive policy support, but there were risks if a quick reopening leads to a continued rise in coronavirus cases.
In economic releases, euro zone retail sales figures for February will be out later today.
The benchmark DAX was down 7 points at 15,226 after closing 0.2 percent higher on Friday.
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