European stock markets sank at the start of trading on Wednesday, hit by fears of a second wave of the coronavirus and news of a fast shrinking UK economy. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index shed 1.01 percent to 5,934.47 points, as official data showed the British economy contracted by 2.0 percent in the first quarter on the back of the COVID-19 outbreak. In the eurozone, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index lost 1.5 percent to 10,656.76 points and the Paris CAC 40 dropped 1.4 percent to 4,409.87. Asian equities meanwhile fell again after US President Donald Trump's top coronavirus adviser warned that easing lockdown measures too early could spark another dangerous wave of infections and batter any economic recovery. "The UK's GDP crashed, and this is the reason that the FTSE 100 index is trading lower today," said AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam. He added: "Overall, the mood in the European equity markets is negative. Traders are picking the momentum from Wall Street where most of the major indices closed in negative territory. "Most of the sell-off over in the US was mainly due to investors being spooked by the re-opening of the economy. "US top infectious disease experts warned that opening the economy prematurely could spike up the infection rate -- but (President) Donald Trump is determined to open the economy at pretty much any cost." Brewing tensions between the US and China added another layer of concern for traders after lawmakers in Washington proposed giving the president powers to impose fresh sanctions if Beijing does not give a "full accounting" over the coronavirus outbreak. burs-rfj/bmm