European Equities: Economic Data from the Eurozone and the U.S in Focus

Market friendly U.S inflation figures delivered the majors with support.

The Stats

Economic data was on the lighter side once more on Wednesday, with inflation figures in focus.

Germany’s annual rate of inflation picked up from 2.3% to 3.8% in July, which was in line with prelim figures.

Italy’s annual rate of inflation accelerated from 1.3% to 1.9%, which was up from a prelim 1.8%.

From the U.S

It was a relatively quiet but important day on the economic calendar.

Inflation figures for July were in focus late in the European session.

In July, the annual rate of inflation held steady at 5.4%, which was in line with forecasts. The core annual rate of inflation softened from 4.5% to 4.3%.

Month-on-month, core consumer prices rose by 0.3% versus a forecasted 0.5% increase. In June, core consumer prices had risen by 0.9%.

Consumer prices also rose at a slower pace, with prices up 0.5% versus a forecasted 0.6% increase. In June, consumer prices had risen by 0.9%.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was another mixed day for the auto sector on Wednesday. BMW and Daimler rose by 0.47% and by 0.61% respectively, with Continental gaining 0.23%. Volkswagen bucked the trend, however, falling by 13%.

It was a bullish day for the banks. Deutsche Bank rose by 0.69%, with Commerzbank gaining by 1.32%.

From the CAC, it was a relatively bullish day for the banks. BNP Paribas rose by 1.39%, with Credit Agricole and Soc Gen seeing gains of 0.59% and 0.78% respectively.

It also a relatively bullish day for the French auto sector. Stellantis NV and Renault ended the day up by 0.38% and by 0.79% respectively.

Air France-KLM found much-needed support, rising by 1.07%, with Airbus SE gaining 0.49%.

On the VIX Index

It was back into the red for the VIX on Wednesday, giving up gains from earlier in the week.

Reversing a 0.42% gain from Tuesday, the VIX fell by 4.35% to end the day at 16.06.

The NASDAQ fell by 0.16%, while the Dow and the S&P500 ended the day up by 0.62% and by 0.25% respectively.

The Day Ahead

It’s a relatively quiet day ahead on the Eurozone’s economic calendar. Industrial production figures for the Eurozone are due out later today. With little else for the markets to consider, expect the numbers to influence.

Later in the day, however, weekly jobless claims data will be the key stats of the day.

Following softer inflation figures on Wednesday, the markets will be looking for more clues on what to expect from the FED.

On the monetary policy front, also expect any central bank chatter to have a greater influence.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was up by 9 points, with the DAX up by 26.

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