European Equities: Geopolitics, the ECB, and U.S Stats in Focus

It was the U.S tech sector that bounced back following Tuesday’s rout that supported a reversal of losses from earlier in the day.

The European majors had kicked the day off in the red, with a pullback across the Asian majors having weighed early on.

Uncertainty over the latest sell-off in the U.S and news of AstraZeneca suspending its coronavirus vaccine had weighed on risk sentiment.

AstraZeneca has been working with Oxford University on a coronavirus vaccine that Trump was looking to fast track for the U.S.

The Stats

It was a particularly quiet day on the Eurozone economic calendar. There were no material stats to provide the majors with direction on Wednesday.

From the U.S

Economic data was on the lighter side. July’s JOLTs job openings were in focus late in the session. In August, job openings rose from an upwardly revised 6.001m to 6.618m. Economists had forecast openings of 6.000m.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a bullish day for the auto sector on Wednesday. BMW and Daimler rose by 1.43% and 2.13% respectively. Continental and Volkswagen saw more modest gains of 0.91% and by 1.22% respectively.

It was a relatively bullish day for the banks. Deutsche Bank rose by 0.04%, with Commerzbank gaining 1.34%.

From the CAC, it was a bullish day for the banks. BNP Paribas and Soc Gen saw gains of 1.00% and 1.26% respectively. Credit Agricole led the way, however, rising by 1.67%.

It was another mixed day for the French auto sector. Peugeot fell by 0.83%, while Renault rose by 0.48%.

Air France-KLM ended the day down by 0.24%, with Airbus SE sliding by 1.96%

On the VIX Index

It was back into the red for the VIX on Wednesday. Reversing a 2.31% gain from Tuesday, the VIX fell by 8.42% to end the day at 28.81.

The pullback came as the U.S majors bounced back from Tuesday’s sell-off, supported by a rebound in the tech sector.

The NASDAQ rose by 2.71%, with the Dow and S&P500 ending the day with gains of 1.60% and 2.01% respectively.

The Day Ahead

It’s a quiet but a big day ahead on the Eurozone economic calendar. While there are no material stats due out of the Eurozone, the ECB’s is an action later today.

With the markets not expecting any policy moves, the Lagarde press conference will be the main event.

Following the August PMIs, the ECB may well take a more gloomy stance on the economic outlook. There could also be references to the EUR/USD exchange rate, following the FED’s new monetary policy framework.

While a weaker EUR would support the majors, any particularly gloomy chatter on the economic outlook would weigh.

From the U.S, wholesale inflation figures and the jobless claims numbers will also influence.

On the geopolitical front, there are Brexit and U.S-China tensions to also consider on the day.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow was up by 10 points.

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