European Equities: French Industrial Production Figures and ECB President Lagarde in Focus

For the DAX30, which is up by 4.31% for the current month, it was only the 2^nd day in the red from 7.

Hopes of a speedy economic recovery, supported by fiscal and monetary policy measures and vaccination roll-outs continued to deliver support, however.

The Stats

It was another relatively quiet day on the economic calendar. Key stats included German trade data and Italian industrial production figures for December.

In December, Germany’s trade surplus widened from €16.0bn to €16.1bn. Economists had forecast a narrowing to €15.9bn.

According to Destatis,

• Exports rose by 0.1% on the previous month to €100.7bn.
• On the same month a year earlier, exports were up by 2.7%.
• Imports fell by 0.1% on the previous month to €85.9bn
• On the same month a year earlier, imports were up by 3.5%.

In Italy, industrial production fell by 0.2% following a 1.4% slide in November. Economists had forecast a 0.3% increase.

From the U.S

JOLT’s job openings were in focus late in the European session.

In December, JOLTs job openings increased from a revised 6.572m to 6.646m, coming in ahead of a forecasted 6.500m.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a bearish day for the auto sector on Tuesday. Continental and Daimler fell by 0.88% and by 1.04% respectively. BMW and Volkswagen saw modest losses of 0.20% and 0.35% respectively.

It was another mixed day for the banks. Deutsche Bank rose by 0.11%, while Commerzbank slid by 2.29%.

From the CAC, it was a mixed day for the banks. BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole fell by 0.45% and by 0.83% respectively. Soc Gen ended the day up by 0.69%.

It was a bearish day for the French auto sector, however. Stellantis NV and Renault ended the day with losses of 0.91% and 1.66% respectively.

Air France-KLM slid by 2.65%, with Airbus SE falling by 1.49%.

On the VIX Index

It was a 2^nd consecutive day in the green for the VIX on Tuesday. Following on from a 1.77% gain on Monday, the VIX rose by 1.84% to end the day at 21.63.

The Dow and the S&P500 fell by 0.03% and by 0.11% respectively, while the NASDAQ rose by 0.14%.

JOLTs job openings for December failed to support, as the markets hit pause following the latest string of gains.

For the S&P500, Tuesday’s modest decline ended a run of 6 consecutive days in the green.

The Day Ahead

It’s a relatively  quiet day ahead on the European economic calendar. Key stats include finalized German inflation and French industrial production figures.

On the monetary policy front, ECB President Lagarde is also scheduled to speak later today. Expect any forward guidance to influence the majors.

From the U.S, January inflation figures and chatter from Capitol Hill will be in focus later in the day.

Ahead of the European open, inflation figures from China will also draw attention.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was up by 29 points.

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