European stocks closed sharply lower Thursday as investors digested the latest comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve and fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed down by 4% provisionally at 354.21, with autos plunging 6.9% as all sectors and major bourses tumbled into negative territory.

Investor reaction to the Fed’s latest economic forecast was in the spotlight. The U.S. central bank kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and indicated it does not expect to raise them through 2022. The Fed also said it expects the U.S. economy to contract by 6.5% in 2020 before expanding by 5% in 2021.

Source : CNBC