European Equities: Economic Data and Corporate Earnings in Focus

Ahead of the European open, inflation figures from China failed to weigh on risk sentiment. While the annual rate of inflation softened from 0.8% to 0.7%, the annual rate of wholesale inflation accelerated from 9.5% to 10.7%.

The Stats

Finalized inflation figures for Spain had a muted impact on the majors.

In September, Spain’s annual rate of inflation picked up from 3.3% to 4.0% which was in line with prelim figures. The Harmonized Index for Consumer Prices rose by 4.0%, year-on-year, which was also in line with prelim figures. In August, the Harmonized Index for Consumer Prices had risen by 3.3%.

From the U.S

September wholesale inflation and jobless claims figures were the key stats of the day.

In September, the annual rate of wholesale inflation picked up from 8.3% to 7.6%, with core wholesale inflation up from 6.7% to 6.8%.

In the week ending 8^th October, initial jobless claims fell from 329k to 293k, a first return to sub-$300k since the start of the pandemic.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a bullish day for the auto sector on Thursday. Daimler rallied by 1.95% to lead the way, with Volkswagen up by 1.49%. BMW and Continental ended the day with more modest gains of 0.70% and by 0.16% respectively.

It was also a bullish day for the banks, however. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank rose by 1.33% and by 0.27% respectively.

From the CAC, it was a bullish day for the banks. Soc Gen rallied by 1.20%, with BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole ending the day up by 0.48% and by 0.30% respectively.

It was a mixed day for the French auto sector, however. Stellantis NV rallied by 2.03%, while Renault fell by 0.25%.

Air France-KLM and Airbus SE ended the day up by 0.10% and by 0.91% respectively.

On the VIX Index

It was a third consecutive day in the red for the VIX on Thursday, marking a 7 decline from 8-sessions.

Following a 6.10% decline on Wednesday, the VIX fell by 9.55% to end the day at 16.86.

The Dow rose by 1.56%, with the NASDAQ and the S&P500 rallying by 1.73% and by 1.71% respectively.

The Day Ahead

It’s a relatively quiet day ahead on the Eurozone’s economic calendar. Finalized inflation figures from France and Italy and Eurozone trade data will be in focus.

While the stats will draw attention, retail sales and consumer sentiment figures from the U.S will likely have a greater impact.

Away from the economic calendar, corporate earnings and crude oil prices will also need monitoring.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was up by 51 points.

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