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European Equities: A Quiet Economic Calendar Leaves Corporate Earnings and Crude Oil Prices in Focus

By:
Bob Mason
Published: Oct 18, 2021, 22:48 UTC

After China's weak GDP numbers on Monday, there are no major stats to shift the mood. Crude oil prices and inflation and corporate earnings will likely be key areas of focus.

Red arrow pointing down against stocks and shares

In this article:

Economic Calendar

Wednesday, 20th October

German PPI (MoM) (Sep)

Eurozone Core CPI (YoY) (Sep)

Eurozone CPI (MoM) (Sep)

Eurozone CPI (YoY) (Sep)

Thursday, 21st October

GfK German Consumer Climate (Nov)

Eurozone Consumer Confidence (Oct) Flash

Friday, 22nd October

French Manufacturing PMI (Oct) Prelim

French Services PMI (Oct) Prelim

German Manufacturing PMI (Oct) Prelim

German Services PMI (Oct) Prelim

Eurozone Manufacturing PMI (Oct) Prelim

Eurozone Markit Composite PMI (Oct) Prelim

Eurozone Services PMI (Oct) Prelim

The Majors

It was a bearish start to the week for the European majors on Monday.

The CAC40 fell by 0.81%, with the DAX30 and the EuroStoxx600 ending the day down by 0.72% and by 0.42% respectively.

Economic data from China set the tone ahead of the European open, with 3rd quarter GDP numbers in focus. With no major stats from the Eurozone to distract, disappointing growth figures left the majors in the red.

Quarter-on-quarter, the Chinese economy expanded by 0.2% versus a forecasted 0.5%. Year-on-year, the economy grew by 4.9% versus a forecasted 5.2%. In the 2nd quarter, the economy had expanded by 1.3% quarter-on-quarter and by 7.9% year-on-year.

Other stats from China included fixed asset investment, industrial production, and retail sales figures for September.

Retail sales rose by 4.4%, year-on-year, in September versus a forecasted 3.3% increase. In August, retail sales had been up by 2.5%. More significantly, industrial production was up by just 3.1%, year-on-year, versus a forecasted 4.5%. In August, industrial production had been up by 5.3%.

Fixed asset investments increased by 7.3% in September, year-on-year, versus a forecasted 7.9%. In August, fixed asset investments had been up by 8.9%.

Later in the day, economic data from the U.S also disappointed.

The Stats

It was a particularly quiet day, with no major stats from the Eurozone to provide the majors with direction.

From the U.S

Industrial production slid by 1.3% in September, following a 0.1% decline in August. Economists had forecast a 0.2% rise.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a bearish day for the auto sector on Monday. Volkswagen slid by 1.52% to lead the way down, with Daimler ending the day down by 1.19%. Continental and BMW saw relatively modest losses of 0.62% and 0.19% respectively.

It was a bullish day for the banks, however. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank rose by 1.42% and by 1.70% respectively.

From the CAC, it was a mixed day for the banks. BNP Paribas rose by 0.45%, while Soc Gen and Credit Agricole ended the day down by 0.42% and by 0.40% respectively.

It was a bearish day for the French auto sector, however. Stellantis NV and Renault slid by 1.82% and by 1.87% respectively.

Air France-KLM and Airbus SE also struggled, falling by 1.95% and by 1.39% respectively.

On the VIX Index

It was back into the green for the VIX on Monday, bring a 4-day losing streak to an end.

Following a 3.32% decline on Friday, the VIX rose by 0.06% to end the day at 16.31.

The Dow fell by 0.10%, while the NASDAQ and the S&P500 rose by 0.84% and by 0.34% respectively.

VIX 191021 Daily Chart

The Day Ahead

It’s another particularly quiet day ahead on the Eurozone’s economic calendar. There were no material stats from the Eurozone to provide the majors with direction.

From the U.S, economic data is limited to housing sector figures that will have a muted impact on the majors.

The lack of stats will leave crude oil prices and inflation, corporate earnings, and central bank chatter in focus.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was down by 36 points.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.

About the Author

Bob Masonauthor

With over 20 years of experience in the finance industry, Bob has been managing regional teams across Europe and Asia and focusing on analytics across both corporate and financial institutions. Currently he is covering developments relating to the financial markets, including currencies, commodities, alternative asset classes, and global equities.

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