European Equities: A Quiet Economic Calendar Will Leave the Majors in the Hands of the U.S Markets

The Majors

It was a bearish end to the week for the European majors on Friday.

The CAC40 and the EuroStoxx600 fell by 0.31% and 0.26% respectively, with the DAX30 ending the day down by 0.09%.

Economic data from the Eurozone was limited to finalized inflation figures from Germany, which had a muted impact on the majors.

From the U.S, wholesale inflation figures for August also had a muted impact as the markets responded further to the ECB’s shift in stance on monetary policy.

The Stats

Finalized German inflation figures were in focus ahead of the European open.

In August, consumer prices stalled after having risen by 0.90% in July. Germany’s annual rate of inflation picked up from 3.8% to 3.9%, which was in line with prelim figures.

According to Destatis,

• The prices of goods increased by 5.6% between August 2020 and August 2021.
• Energy product prices were up 12.6%, with food prices up 4.6%.
• Prices for transport equipment (+5.5%) and furniture & lighting equipment (+4.0%) also saw sizeable increases.
• Year-on-year, services prices were up 2.5%, with the annual rate of inflation excluding energy up 3.0%.

From the U.S

Wholesale inflation was in focus late in the European session.

In August, the U.S annual rate of wholesale inflation accelerated from 7.8% to 8.3%. The core annual rate of wholesale inflation picked up from 6.2% to 6.7%. Month-on-month, the producer price index rose by 0.7% after having risen by 1.0% in July.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was another mixed day for the auto sector on Friday. Volkswagen fell by 0.39% to buck the trend on the day. BMW ended the day up by 0.40%, with Daimler and Continental rising by 0.58% and by 0.77% respectively, however.

It was a bearish day for the banks, however. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank fell by 0.23% and by 0.15% respectively.

From the CAC, it was a mixed day for the banks. BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole fell by 1.71% and by 1.09% respectively, while Soc Gen ended the day up by 0.08%.

It was also a mixed day for the French auto sector. Stellantis NV rose by 0.10%, while Renault fell by 0.32%.

Air France-KLM slid by 2.24%, with Airbus SE falling by 0.73%.

On the VIX Index

It was a 2^nd consecutive day in the green the VIX on Friday.

Following a 4.68% gain on Thursday, the VIX jumped by 11.44% to end the day at 20.95.

On Friday, the NASDAQ fell by 0.87%, with the Dow and S&P500 ending the day down by 0.78% and by 0.77% respectively.

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 at the start of the week.

From the U.S, there are also no major stats to provide the majors with direction late in the session.

The lack of stats will leave the majors in the hands of COVID-19 news updates and any central bank chatter on the day.

Late in the day, the majors will likely take direction from the U.S majors.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was up by 80 points.

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