European Equities: A Quiet Economic Calendar Leaves U.S Data to Influence

The Majors

It was another mixed day for the European majors on Wednesday, with the EuroStoxx600 finding further support after Monday’s slip.

DAX30 and the EuroStoxx600 rose by 0.28% and by 0.14% respectively, while the CAC40 fell by 0.73%.

Economic data from the Eurozone had a muted impact on the majors, with housing sector data from the U.S also failing to move the dial.

Continued concerns over the ongoing spread of the Delta variant pegged the majors back once more,

Uncertainty over the FED’s tapering plans ahead of the FOMC meeting minutes also tested the majors on the day.

The Stats

Finalized inflation figures for the Eurozone were the key stats of the day.

In July, the Eurozone’s annual rate of inflation picked up from 1.9% to 2.2%, which was in line with prelim figures. Month-on-month, consumer prices fell by 0.1%, following a 0.3% rise in June.

The core annual rate of inflation softened from 0.9% to 0.7%, which was also in line with forecasts.

According to Eurostat,

• The lowest annual rates were registered in Malta (+0.3%), Greece (+0.7%), and Italy (+1.0%).
• Estonia recorded the highest annual rate of inflation of 4.9%.
• For the euro area, the largest contribution came from energy (+1.34 pp), followed by food, alcohol, & tobacco (+0.35 pp).
• Services contributed 0.31 pp, with non-energy industrial goods 0.17 percentage points.

From the U.S

Housing sector data for July were in focus. With the FOMC minutes due out after the European close however, the stats failed to move the dial.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a mixed day for the auto sector on Wednesday. Continental rose by 0.97% to buck the trend. By contrast, Daimler slid by 1.21% to lead the way down. BMW and Volkswagen ended the day down by 0.70% and by 1.12% respectively.

It was a bullish day for the banks, however. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank ended the day with gains of 1.17% and 2.32% respectively.

From the CAC, it was a bullish day for the banks. BNP Paribas rose by 0.91%, with Soc Gen and Credit Agricole ending the day up by 0.59% and by 0.23% respectively.

It was a mixed day for the French auto sector, however. Stellantis NV rose by 0.76%, while Renault fell by 0.40%.

Air France-KLM and Airbus SE saw relatively modest gains of 0.41% and 0.07% respectively.

On the VIX Index

It was a 3^rd consecutive day in the green for the VIX on Wednesday.

Following an 11.10% rise on Tuesday, the VIX jumped by 20.44% to end the day at 21.57.

The Dow and the S&P500 slid by 1.08% and by 1.07% respectively, with the NASDAQ ending the day down by 0.89%.

The Day Ahead

It’s a particularly quiet day ahead on the Eurozone’s economic calendar. There are no material stats due out of the Eurozone to provide the majors with direction.

The lack of stats will leave the majors to respond to the overnight FOMC meeting minutes going into the open.

Later in the day, jobless claims and Philly FED manufacturing numbers from the U.S will also influence.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was down by 18 points.

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