It's a relatively quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. A lack of stats from the U.S will leave the U.S major to provide direction later in the day.
It was a particularly bearish day for the European majors on Thursday, with the majors heading for a 1st weekly loss of the month.
The CAC40 slid by 2.43%, with the DAX30 and the EuroStoxx600 falling by 1.25% and by 1.54% respectively.
From the Eurozone, there were no major stats to distract the markets.
The overnight FOMC meeting minutes from Wednesday and economic data from the U.S raised the prospects of a near-term move by the FED.
Jitters over an imminent tapering by the FED delivered the downside on the day.
There were no major stats from the Eurozone to provide the majors with direction.
Philly FED Manufacturing and weekly jobless claims figures were in focus.
In August, the Philly FED Manufacturing Index fell from 21.9 to 19.4. Economists had forecast an increase to 23.0.
More significantly, in the week ending 13th August, jobless claims fell from 377k to 348k. Economists had forecast a decline to 363k.
For the DAX: It was a bearish day for the auto sector on Thursday. BMW and Daimler slid by 3.12% and by 3.37% respectively to lead the way down. Continental and Volkswagen ended the day down by 2.13% and by 1.81% respectively.
It was also a bearish day for the banks. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank ended the day with losses of 2.92% and 1.93% respectively.
From the CAC, it was a bearish day for the banks. Soc Gen slid by 3.03%, with BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole ending the day down by 2.68% and by 2.05% respectively.
Things were not much better for the French auto sector. Stellantis NV slid by 3.56%, with Renault falling by 2.60%.
Air France-KLM saw a relatively modest 1.60% decline, while Airbus SE slid by 3.15%.
It was a 4th consecutive day in the green for the VIX on Thursday.
Following a 20.44% jump on Wednesday, the VIX rose by 0.46% to end the day at 21.67.
The NASDAQ and the S&P500 rose by 0.11% and by 0.13% respectively, while the Dow slipped by 0.19%.
It’s a relatively quiet day ahead on the Eurozone’s economic calendar. Wholesale inflation figures from Germany are due out in the early part of the day.
We don’t expect the numbers to influence, however.
FOMC member chatter ahead of Jackson Hole and COVID-19 will remain the key areas of interest.
In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was down by 27 points.
For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.
With over 28 years of experience in the financial industry, Bob has worked with various global rating agencies and multinational banks. Currently he is covering currencies, commodities, alternative asset classes and global equities, focusing mostly on European and Asian markets.