Most European shares were down in early trading on Thursday, with the expectation of a monetary policy decision by the European Central Bank, and as the euro area economy reported a worse than forecast contraction in the first quarter.

As of 08:51 GMT, the Euro Stoxx 50 index dipped 0.15 percent to trade near 2, 991.74 points.

German DAX 30 index fell nearly 0.44 percent and now settles near 11,103.74 points, while French CAC 40 reached 4,680.13 points, up 0.24 percent.

Britain’s FTSE 100 Index descended to 6,101.91 points, bringing its slump today to about 0.22 percent.

The fall in European equities comes despite market optimism about the effective treatment trials of the coronavirus revealed by Gilead yesterday and proved to be 50 per cent effective.

Despite these losses, European shares are heading to record the biggest monthly gain from July 2009, with recovery from the declines that occurred in February, due to increased indicators of easing restrictions and significant economic stimulus measures.

Investors are also closely awaiting the latest ECB monetary policy decision, which is due in the coming hours, but they are unlikely to make a big decision today.

Regarding economic data, the first quarter GDP data showed that the eurozone shrank by 3.8 percent, the sharpest decline since 1995, compared to projections of -3.7 percent.

Regarding Coved-19 developments, the number of people infected today worldwide reached 3,232,061, while the total number of deaths registered 228,504.

As of 09:16 GMT, the EUR/USD pair rose today, reaching 1.0880 levels, while the pair opened today’s session at 1.0878. It is also noted that the highest level reached by the euro today was at 1.0891.