It's a relatively busy day ahead on the economic data front, with key stats from the Eurozone and the U.S in focus. Expect COVID-19 and vaccine news to also influence.
German Ifo Business Climate Index (Apr)
GfK German Consumer Climate (May)
Spanish HICP (YoY) (Apr) Prelim
German Unemployment Change and Rate (Apr)
German CPI (MoM) (Apr) Prelim
French GDP (QoQ) (Q1)
German GDP (QoQ) (Q1)
German GDP (YoY) (Q1)
Spanish GDP (QoQ) (Q1)
Italian CPI (MoM) (Apr) Prelim
Eurozone CPI (YoY) (Apr) Prelim
Eurozone Unemployment Rate (Mar)
Eurozone GDP (QoQ) (Q1)
Eurozone GDP (YoY) (Q1)
The European majors ended the week on the back foot to mark a first weekly fall for the EuroStoxx600 in 8-weeks.
On Friday, the DAX30 slipped by 0.27%, with the CAC40 and the EuroStoxx600 declining by 0.15% and by 0.13% respectively.
Economic data from the Eurozone and the U.S failed to support the majors, with market concerns over President Biden’s capital tax gains plans weighing.
Adding to the downside at the end of the week was continued concern over the continued rise in new COVID-19 cases globally.
On Thursday, ECB President Lagarde had talked of a 1st quarter economic contraction. Failure to slow spread of the virus globally could raise concerns over demand and delay the reopening of economies.
It was a busy day on the economic calendar on Friday, with private sector PMIs in focus.
According to prelim figures, the French manufacturing PMI slipped from 59.3 to 59.2 in April, while the services PMI rose from 48.2 to 50.4.
Economists had forecast PMIs of 59.0 and 46.5.
From Germany, the manufacturing PMI slipped from 66.6 to 66.4 with the services PMI falling from 51.5 to 50.1.
Economists had forecast PMIs of 65.8 and 50.8 respectively.
For the Eurozone, the manufacturing PMI rose from 62.5 to a record high 63.3, with the services PMI rising from 49.6 to an 8-month high 50.3.
Economists had forecast PMIs of 62.0 and 49.1 respectively.
According to the prelim April Survey,
Private sector PMIs were in focus late in the session.
In April, the manufacturing PMI increased from 59.1 to 60.6, with the services PMI rising from 60.4 to 63.1.
Economists had forecast PMIs of 60.5 and 61.9 respectively.
For the DAX: It was a bullish end to the week for the auto sector on Friday. Continental rallied by 3.12%, with BMW and Daimler rising by 0.67% and by 0.65% respectively. Volkswagen ended the day up by a more modest 0.17%.
It was a bullish day for the banks, however. Deutsche Bank rose by 1.10%, with Commerzbank gaining 1.90%.
From the CAC, it was a mixed day for the banks. BNP Paribas fell by 0.34%, while Credit Agricole and Soc Gen both rose by 0.23%.
It was also a mixed day for the French auto sector. Stellantis NV rose by 0.07%, while Renault ended the day down by 1.03%.
Air France-KLM returned to the red, sliding by 3.39%, with Airbus SE falling by 1.25%.
It was back into the red for the VIX on Friday.
Reversing a 6.91% rise from Thursday, the VIX slid by 7.38% to end the day at 17.33.
The Dow rose by 0.67%, with the NASDAQ and the S&P500 gaining 1.44% and 1.09% respectively.
It’s a relatively busy day ahead on the European economic calendar. Key stats include Germany’s IFO business sentiment figures for April.
We can expect plenty of sensitivity to the numbers, with business investment key to a sustainable economic recovery.
From the U.S, core durable and durable goods orders for March will also influence later in the session.
Away from the economic calendar, COVID-19 news updates and corporate earnings will also need continued monitoring.
In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was up by 6 points.
For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.
With over 20 years of experience in the finance industry, Bob has been managing regional teams across Europe and Asia and focusing on analytics across both corporate and financial institutions. Currently he is covering developments relating to the financial markets, including currencies, commodities, alternative asset classes, and global equities.