European Equities: Futures Point Northwards with No Major Stats to Provide Direction

The Majors

It was a bullish end to the week for the European majors on Friday following a mixed session on Thursday.

The EuroStoxx600 rose by 0.99% to close out the week at a record high, with the CAC40 gaining 0.45%. Leading the way, however, was the DAX30, which ended the day up by 1.34%.

Economic data and corporate earnings from Germany delivered the upside for the DAX30 on the day.

Hopes of a swifter economic recovery amidst pickup in vaccination rates across the EU also supported the broader market.

The Stats

It was a relatively busy day on the Eurozone economic calendar on Friday.

German industrial production and trade data for March were the key stats from the Eurozone.

German Industrial Production

Industrial production increased by 2.5% in March, reversing a revised 1.9% decline from February. Economists had forecast a 2.3% rise.

According to Destatis,

• Production in industry excl. energy and construction increased by 0.7%.
• Within industry, the production of intermediate goods was up by 1.2%.
• More significantly, the production of consumer goods jumped by 2.9%, while the production of capital goods slipped by 0.4%.
• Outside industry, energy production was up by 2.4%, with the production in construction surging by 10.8%.
• Compared with March 2020, industrial production was up 5.1%.

German Trade

In March, Germany’s trade surplus narrowed from €18.9bn to €14.3bn. Economists had forecast a widening to €19.5bn.

According to Destatis,

• In March 2021, exports were up 1.2% and imports 6.5% compared with February 2021.
• German exports increased by 16.1% compared with March 2020, with imports up by 15.5%.

Trade with EU countries:

• Germany exported good to the value of €67.5bn to EU member states (+21.2%), with imports from EU member states of €57.7bn (+18.4%).
• Exports to euro area countries increased by 22.6%, with imports up by 16.2%.

Trade with non-EU countries:

• Compared with March 2020, exports to third countries increased by 10.8%, with imports rising by 12.2%.

Trade with the UK:

• Exports to the UK fell by 13.2% when compared with March 2020, while imports rose by 1.6%.

Others:

• German exports to China jumped by 37.9% when compared with March 2020.
• Exports to the U.S rose by 8.8%.

From the U.S

Labor market numbers were back in focus on Friday.

In April, nonfarm payrolls rose by just 266K, falling well short of a forecasted 978k rise. The participation rate ticked up from 61.5% to 61.7%, contributing to a rise in the unemployment rate from 6.0% to 6.1%.

The only positive was a pickup in wage growth at the turn of the quarter. In the April month, average hourly earnings jumped by 0.7%, reversing a 0.1% decline from March.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a mixed day for the auto sector on Friday. Continental rose by 1.91%, with Daimler and BMW gaining 0.61% and 0.02% respectively. Volkswagen fell by 0.94%, however, to buck the trend.

It was also a mixed day for the banks. Deutsche Bank rose by 1.07%, while Commerzbank ended the day down by 0.43%.

Leading the way on the day was Adidas AG, which jumped by 7.99% following an upward revision to its current year outlook.

From the CAC, it was a relatively bearish day for the banks. Credit Agricole fell by 1.67%, with BNP Paribas and Soc Gen seeing losses of 0.24% and 0.06% respectively.

It was a mixed day for the French auto sector. Stellantis NV rose by 0.19%, while Renault ended the day down by 0.70%.

Air France-KLM founded much-needed support, rallying by 4.14%, with Airbus SE rising by 1.67%.

On the VIX Index

It was a third consecutive day in the red for the VIX on Friday, marking a 4^th day in the red from 7 sessions.

Following on from a 3.97% fall on Thursday, the VIX slid by 9.24% to end the day at 16.69.

The NASDAQ rose by 0.88%, with the Dow and the S&P500 gaining 0.66% and 0.74% respectively.