European Equities: A Quiet Economic Calendar Leaves COVID-19 in Focus

The Majors

It was a relatively bearish end to the week for the European majors on Friday, as the majors partially reversed Thursday’s gains.

The DAX30 fell by 0.73%, while the CAC40 and EuroStoxx600 ended the day with relatively minor losses of 0.18% and 0.39% respectively.

Economic data from the U.S took a back seat at the end of the week as the market focus returned to the coronavirus.

Reports of U.S states pausing reopening measures amidst rising new coronavirus cases weighed on risk sentiment on the day.

The Stats

It was a particularly quiet day on the Eurozone economic calendar on Friday. There were no material stats to provide the European majors with direction at the end of the week.

From the U.S

It was a busy day on the economic calendar. Key stats included the FED’s preferred inflation figures and personal spending numbers for May. Finalized consumer sentiment figures for June were also in focus.

Ultimately, however, the numbers had a limited impact on the European majors on the day.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a bearish day for the auto sector, reversing Thursday’s recovery. BMW and Daimler led the way down, sliding by 3.38% and 3.68% respectively. Continental and Volkswagen saw more modest losses of 2.57% and 1.16% respectively.

It was a particularly bearish day for the banks, with Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank sliding by 5.53% and by 4.26% respectively.

WIRECARD AG tumbled by 53.22% following a 74.9% slump from the previous day.

From the CAC, the banks fell back into the red on Friday. Credit Agricole led the way down, sliding by 2.34%. BNP Paribas and Soc Gen declined by 1.96% and 1.84% respectively.

The French auto sector also saw red, with Peugeot and Renault ending the day with losses of 2.53% and 1.99% respectively.

Things were no better for Air France-KLM and Airbus SE, which slid by 3.36% and by 3.19% respectively.

On the VIX Index

It was back into the green for the VIX. Reversing a 4.79% fall from Thursday, the VIX rose by 7.79% to end the day at 34.73.

Market reaction to COVID-19 news at the end of the week weighed on the U.S equity markets.

The S&P500 and Dow fell by 2.42% and by 2.84% respectively, with the NASDAQ declining by 2.59%.

The Day Ahead

It’s a relatively quiet day ahead on the Eurozone economic calendar. June’s prelim inflation figures are due out of Spain and Germany.

We expect the stats to have a muted impact on the majors, with updates on COVID-19 from the weekend likely to be the key driver.

From the U.S

It’s also a quiet day ahead, with May’s pending home sales figures also likely to be brushed aside by the markets.

A lack of stats will leave the majors in the hands of Trump and the U.S administration and updates on COVID-19 late in the day.

The Latest Coronavirus Figures

On Sunday, the number of new coronavirus cases rose by 136,417 to 10,229,030. On Saturday, the number of new cases had risen by 208,420. The daily increase was lower than Saturday’s rise while up from 131,020 new cases from the previous Sunday.

Germany, Italy, and Spain reported 650 new cases on Sunday, which was down from 1,029 new cases on Saturday. On the previous Sunday, 917 new cases had been reported.

From the U.S, the total number of cases rose by 35,905 to 2,632,442 on Sunday. On Saturday, the total number of cases had risen by 48,661. On Sunday, 21^st June, a total of 26,079 new cases had been reported.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the DAX was down by 38 points, with the Dow down by 42 points.

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