European Equities: A Quiet Economic Calendar Leaves U.S Stats in Focus

The annual rate of inflation accelerated from -0.3% to 1.0%, which was also in line with prelim figures. In both November and in December consumer prices had fallen by 0.3% year-on-year.

According to Destatis,

• The temporary reduction in the rates of value added tax ended in Dec-2020.
• Higher rates since January 2021 were passed onto consumers, contributing to the pickup in inflationary pressures.

French industrial production fell by 0.8% in December, following a 0.9% decline in November. Economists had forecast a 0.2% rise.

According to Insee.Fr,

• Output in the manufacturing sector decreased by 1.7%, reversing a 0.7% increase in November. It was the first decline since April 2020.
• Compared with February 2020, output in the manufacturing industry was down by 5.8% and by 4.9% for the whole industry.

From the U.S

Inflation figures for January were in focus late in the European session.

In January, the core annual rate of inflation softened from 1.6% to 1.4%, which was worse than a forecasted 1.5%.

Month-on-month, core consumer prices stalled, falling short of a forecasted 0.2% rise. Consumer prices rose by 0.3%, however, which was in line with forecasts.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was another mixed day for the auto sector on Wednesday. BMW avoided the red, eking out a 0.03% gain.

Daimler slid 1.14%, however, with Continental and Volkswagen seeing losses of 0.57% and 0.77% respectively.

It was also a mixed day for the banks. Deutsche Bank rose by 1.16%, while Commerzbank slipped by 0.62%.

From the CAC, it was another bullish day for the banks, supported by Soc Gen’s quarterly earnings. BNP Paribas and Soc Gen rallied by 2.77% and by 2.85% respectively. Credit Agricole ended the day with a more modest 0.84% gain.

It was a bearish day for the French auto sector, however. Stellantis NV slid by 1.89%, with Renault falling by 1.28%.

Air France-KLM and Airbus SE also saw red, falling by 0.91% and by 0.84% respectively.

On the VIX Index

It was a 3^rd consecutive day in the green for the VIX on Wednesday. Following a 1.84% gain on Tuesday, the VIX rose by 1.66% to end the day at 21.99.

The Dow rose by 0.20%, while the NASDAQ and the S&P500 fell by 0.25% and by 0.03% respectively.

The Day Ahead

It’s a quiet day ahead on the European economic calendar. There are no material stats due out of the Eurozone due out today.

The lack of stats will leave the European majors in the hands of U.S economic data and chatter from Capitol Hill.

Key stats from the U.S include the weekly jobless claims figures for the week ending 5^th February.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was up by 25 points.

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