European Equities: Corporate Earnings and U.S Stats in Focus

The Majors

The European majors started the week on a better footing following last week’s pullback.

On Monday, the DAX30 rose by 0.11%, with the CAC40 and the EuroStoxx600 gaining 0.28% and 0.29% respectively.

Economic data from the Eurozone and the U.S provided support, with market optimism towards the economic outlook also providing support.

There was some positive news for the markets to consider from the weekend, however. News of EU plans to allow vaccinated tourists from the U.S to enter the EU in the summer supported travel stocks.

For the majors, the upside was limited, however, as new COVID-19 cases continued to spike across some geographies

The Stats

It was a relatively quiet day on the economic calendar on Monday, with German business sentiment in focus.

In April, Germany’s IFO Business Climate Index rose from 96.6 to 96.8.  For March, the index had risen from 92.7 to 96.6.

According to the April survey,

• Companies raised their assessments of the current business situation, with the current assessment sub-index rising from 93.1 to 94.1.
• Firms were marginally less optimistic, however, with the business expectations sub-index falling from 100.3 to 99.5.

By Sector:

• In Manufacturing, the business climate index rose from 24.0 to 25.3, its highest level since May-2018. Optimism across the sector declined, however.
• For the services sector, the business climate index fell from 6.6 to 3.5. Firms were less satisfied with their current situation, with optimism also waning.

In trade, the business climate index rose from -1.4 to -0.5. A marked improvement in assessments of the current situation drove the index higher. There was increased pessimism regarding the coming months ahead, however.

From the U.S

Durable goods and core durable goods orders were in focus late in the European session.

In March, durable goods orders rose by 0.5%, partially reversing a 0.9% decline from February. Core durable goods orders increased by 1.6%, reversing a 0.3% fall from February.

Economists had forecast increases of 2.5% and 1.6% respectively.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a mixed start to the week for the auto sector on Monday. Volkswagen slid by 1.02%, with Continental falling by 0.15%. BMW and Daimler found support, however, rising by 0.51% and by 0.83% respectively.

It was a bullish day for the banks. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank rallied by 2.35% and by 2.67% respectively.

From the CAC, it was a bullish day for the banks. BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole rose by 2.77% and by 2.05% respectively. Soc Gen led the way, however, rallying by 4.03%.

It was a mixed day for the French auto sector. Stellantis NV fell by 0.24%, while Renault ended the day up by 1.75%.

Air France-KLM and Airbus SE saw gains of 1.59% and 2.82% respectively on the day.

On the VIX Index

It was back into the green for the VIX on Monday.

Partially reversing a 7.38% slide from Friday, the VIX rose by 1.79% to end the day at 17.64.

The Dow slipped by 0.18%, while the NASDAQ and the S&P500 rose by 0.87% and by 0.18% respectively.