European Equities: Economic Data from China and Germany in Focus

The Majors

It was yet another relatively bullish day for the European majors on Friday.

The CAC40 and the DAX30 rose by 0.53% and by 0.11% respectively, while the EuroStoxx600 ended the day flat.

Disappointing economic data from Germany failed to weigh on the majors, with the markets focused on NFP numbers from the U.S.

Better than expected labor market numbers from the U.S delivered the majors with support at the end of the week. While nonfarm payrolls may force the FED to shift on its current stance on policy, however, there’s unlikely to be any immediate talk of lifting rates.

The Stats

Economic data was on the lighter side on Friday, with industrial production figures from Germany in focus.

In June, industrial production fell by 1.3%, month-on-month, following on from a 0.8% decline in May. Economists had forecast a 0.5% rise in the month.

According to Destatis,

• Production in industry excl. energy and construction was down 0.9%.
• Within industry, the production of capital goods fell 2.9%, with the production of intermediate goods declining by 0.9%.
• By contrast, the production of consumer goods jumped 3.4%.
• Outside industry, energy production fell 0.6%, with production in construction declining 2.6%.
• Compared with the same month a year earlier, production was up 5.1%.
• When compared with February 2020, however, production was 6.8% lower.

From the U.S

It was a big day for the markets, with nonfarm payrolls for July in focus late in the European session.

In July, nonfarm payrolls increased by a further 943k following a 938k rise in June. As a result, the unemployment rate fell from 5.9% to 5.4%.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a bullish day for the auto sector on Friday. BMW rose by 1.08% to lead the way, with Daimler gaining 0.78%. Continental and Volkswagen ended the day with more modest gains of 0.38% and 0.51% respectively, however.

It was a bullish day for the banks, however. Deutsche Bank rose by 1.27%, with Commerzbank gaining 2.49%.

From the CAC, it was a bullish day for the banks. Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas rallied by 3.03% and by 2.92% respectively, with Soc Gen rising by 1.47%.

It also a bullish day for the French auto sector. Stellantis NV rallied by 2.47%, with Renault rising by 0.50%.

Air France-KLM bucked the trend, falling by 1.54%, while Airbus SE ended the day up by 0.22%.

On the VIX Index

It was a 4^th consecutive day in the red for the VIX on Friday.

Following a 3.84% decline on Thursday, the VIX fell by 6.54% to end the day at 16.15.

The NASDAQ fell by 0.40%, while the Dow and the S&P500 ended the day up by 0.41% and by 0.17% respectively.