Economic Calendar:
Wednesday, 13th January
ECB President Lagarde Speaks
Eurozone Industrial Production (MoM) (Nov)
Thursday, 14th January
ECB Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes
Friday, 15th January
French CPI (MoM) (Dec) Final
French HICP (MoM) (Dec) Final
Spanish CPI (YoY) (Dec) Final
Spanish HICP (YoY) (Dec) Final
Eurozone Trade Balance (Nov)
The Majors
It was a bearish start to the week for the European majors, with the DAX30 falling by 0.80% to lead the way down. The CAC40 and EuroStoxx600 weren’t far behind, with losses of 0.78% and 0.67% respectively.
A lack of economic data left COVID-19 in focus.
Across the EU, low vaccination rates and a spike in new COVID-19 cases, in spite of containment measures, weighed.
In China, reports of a spike in new COVID-19 cases added to the market angst on the day.
The Stats
It was a particularly quiet day on the economic calendar. There were no material stats to provide the majors with direction at the start of the week.
From the U.S
It was also a particularly quiet day on the economic calendar, with no material stats to influence following last week’s data dump.
The Market Movers
For the DAX: It was a bearish day for the auto sector on Monday. BMW and Continental slid by 2.06% and by 2.64% respectively. Daimler and Volkswagen saw more modest losses of 0.95% and 1.10% respectively.
It was a bullish day for the banks, however. Deutsche Bank rose by 0.42%, with Commerzbank rallying by 2.12%.
From the CAC, it was a bearish day for the banks. BNP Paribas fell by 0.67%, with Credit Agricole and Soc Gen declining by 1.36% and by 1.35% respectively.
It was also a bearish day for the French auto sector. Peugeot and Renault ended the day with losses of 1.59% and 1.02% respectively.
Air France-KLM fell by 1.52%, with Airbus SE ending the day down by 0.36%.
On the VIX Index
A run of 4 consecutive days in the red came to an end for the VIX on Monday, marking just a 2nd day in the green from 8 sessions. Reversing a 3.62% fall from Friday, the VIX rose by 11.69% to end the day at 24.08.
Market reaction to the continued rise in COVID-19 cases and low vaccination rates weighed on riskier assets at the start of the week.
The NASDAQ slid by 1.25%, with the Dow and the S&P500 falling by 0.29% and by 0.66% respectively.
The Day Ahead
It’s another quiet busy day ahead on the economic calendar, with no material stats due out of the Eurozone to provide direction.
From the U.S, JOLTs job openings are due out. Barring particularly dire numbers, however, the numbers will likely have a muted impact on the European majors.
The markets are in forgiving mood on the data front, with COVID-19 vaccines and fiscal stimulus expected to reboot the economy.
The lack of stats will, therefore, leave the majors in the hands of Capitol Hill and COVID-19 vaccine news.
The Futures
In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was up by 43 points, with the DAX up by 51 points.
For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.
