European Equities: Eurozone GDP and Trade Data in Focus

The Majors

It was a bearish start to the week for the European majors on Monday.

The CAC40 and the DAX30 fell by 0.28% and by 0.13% respectively, with the EuroStoxx600 ending the day down by 0.05%.

There were no major stats from the Eurozone to provide the majors with direction at the start of the week.

The lack of stats left economic data from China to drag on demand for riskier assets.

In April, industrial production rose by just 9.8% year-on-year compared with 14.1% in March. Retail sales figures also disappointed, with sales up by 17.7% year-on-year. This was well below a 34.2% rise in March.

Adding to the market angst on the day was a renewed rise in new COVID-19 cases across the Asian region.

For the European majors, the downside was limited, however, with optimism towards the economic outlook continuing to deliver support.

The Stats

Economic data was limited to finalized April inflation figures from Italy that had a muted impact on the majors.

From the U.S

It was a quiet day on the economic calendar on Monday. Manufacturing data from NY State was in focus late in the European session.

In May, the NY Empire State Manufacturing Index fell from 26.3 to 24.3. In April, the Index had climbed from 17.4 to 26.3.

While down marginally, new orders continued to see a marked increase as did unfilled orders.

On the inflation front, both input prices and selling prices rose at a record-setting pace.

While employment levels grew more modestly, firms remained optimistic and expected significant increases in both employment and prices.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a mixed day for the auto sector on Monday. BMW and Volkswagen rose by 0.67% and by 0.50% respectively, with Daimler ending the day up by 0.19%. Continental bucked the trend, however, falling by 0.21% on the day.

It was a bearish day for the banks. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank ended the day with losses of 0.66% and 0.26% respectively.

From the CAC, it was a mixed day for the banks. BNP Paribas slipped by 0.11%, while Credit Agricole and Soc Gen saw gains of 0.12% and 0.36% respectively.

It was a bullish day for the French auto sector, however. Stellantis NV rallied by 1.63%, with Renault gaining 0.84%.

Air France-KLM fell by 0.80%, with Airbus SE sliding by 2.68% on the day.

On the VIX Index

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

Partially reversing an 18.68% slide from Friday, the VIX rose by 4.84% to end the day at 19.72.

The NASDAQ fell by 0.38%, with the Dow and the S&P500 ending the day down by 0.16% and by 0.25% respectively.