European Equities: Brexit, the EU Summit, and Capitol Hill in Focus

From the U.S, disappointing economic data added further pressure on the majors on the day.

The Stats

It was a quiet day on the Eurozone economic calendar. There were no material stats from the Eurozone to provide direction.

From the U.S

Economic data from the U.S included the weekly jobless claims and November inflation figures.

In the week ending 4^th December, initial jobless claims jumped from 716k to 853k. Economists had forecast a rise to 725k.

For November, the annual rate of core inflation held steady at 1.6%, which was in line with forecasts. Month-on-month, core consumer prices, and consumer prices both rose by 0.2%, coming in ahead of forecasted 0.1% increases.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a bearish day for the auto sector on Thursday. BMW and Daimler slid by 2.66% and by 2.21% respectively. Continental and Volkswagen saw more modest losses of 1.49% and 1.44% respectively.

It was also a bearish day for the banks, weighed by the ECB’s economic forecasts. Deutsche Bank fell by 2.18%, while Commerzbank sliding by 3.10%.

From the CAC, it was a bearish day for the banks. BNP Paribas and Soc Gen slid by 2.44% and by 3.25% respectively, with Credit Agricole falling by 0.91%.

It was a mixed day for the French auto sector, however. Peugeot rose by 0.19%, while Renault slipped by 0.44%.

Air France-KLM fell by 2.08%, while Airbus SE eked out a 0.14% gain.

On the VIX Index

It was a 2^nd consecutive day in the green for the VIX on Thursday. Following on from Wednesday’s 7.69% gain, the VIX rose by 1.12% to end the day at 22.52.

A surge in jobless claims and a lack of progress towards a stimulus package on Capitol Hill weighed on riskier assets.

The Dow and S&P500 fell by 0.23% and by 0.13% respectively, while the NASDAQ bucked the trend with a 0.54% gain.

The Day Ahead

It’s another relatively quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. Finalized November inflation figures are due out of Germany and Spain.

The numbers are unlikely to have an impact on the majors, however.

Later in the day, November wholesale inflation and prelim December consumer sentiment figures from the U.S will draw attention.

Ultimately, however, the focus will be on Brexit and, to a lesser extent, Capitol Hill. Sunday’s deadline for Brexit talks means that progress will be needed to support the majors ahead of the weekend.

From the Eurozone, the EU Summit will also garner some interest following yesterday’s agreement on the EU budget and recovery package.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was down by 54 points.

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