By Anisha Sircar

(Reuters) – European shares fell Thursday on concerns over a continued rise in COVID-19 case and tighter monetary policies.

Pan-European stocks fell 0.2%. Healthcare shares and individual and household goods suffered the most. Geberit’s quarterly update to construction stocks showed that Geberit is a Swiss manufacturer of plumbing supplies.

Geberit fell 3.9% because it stated that increased uncertainty makes it difficult to forecast 2022 prices for raw materials and the overall construction market.

STOXX 600 hit an all-time high of 600 at the beginning of this year. However, it has not been able to sustain its gains. Investors remain worried about higher inflation, Omicron variant, and the effect of supply pressures, as fourth-quarter earnings season starts.

According to David Madden, Equiti Capital analyst and European stock market strategist, major rallies could be difficult in Europe due to the prospect of higher interest rates.

We’ll see companies, especially in the retail sector, start to talk about lower margins.

In the meantime, Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor, urged compulsory COVID-19 immunizations for all adult citizens. The French Senate also approved measures to fight the virus including the vaccination pass.

After a losing streak of seven days, tech stocks saw a gain for the third consecutive day. TMSC (the world’s biggest contract chipmaker) posted record quarterly profits on strong demand. It has helped to boost the sector.

Semiconductor companies, including BE Semiconductors and ASM International (OTC) and Soitec, saw their shares rise between 4.6% to 5.7% and ASML Holding (NASDAQ) saw 2.5%.

STMicro gained 2.3% while Infineon, OTC:, added 1.7%.

SMA Solar Technology, Germany’s most important solar group, fell 7.1% following a second forecast reduction for 2021.

Chr Hansen, a food ingredients manufacturer, saw an increase of 5.3% in organic revenue after it reported a quarter-over-expected growth.