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European Equities: German Trade Data and Omicron News in Focus

By:
Bob Mason
Published: Dec 8, 2021, 23:43 UTC

Following Wednesday's pullback, economic data from Germany and the U.S will be in focus following inflation figures from China. Omicron news will remain a key driver, however.

euro background

In this article:

Economic Calendar

Thursday, 9th December

German Trade Balance (Oct)

Friday, 10th December

German CPI (MoM) (Nov) Final

The Majors

It was a bearish day for the European majors on Wednesday, with the losses coming in spite of gains across the Asian and U.S markets.

The CAC40 and DAX30 fell by 0.72% and by 0.80% respectively, with the EuroStoxx600 ending the day up by 0.50%.

Economic data from the Eurozone was limited to French nonfarm payrolls for the 3rd quarter, which failed to move the dial.

Omicron news continued to be the key driver, as news updates from around the world delivered investors mixed messages. While Pfizer and BioNTech announced that 3 doses of their vaccine deliver the necessary protection, news from South Africa contradicted Pfizer and BioNTech preliminary testing.

According to early lab test results from South Africa, the Pfizer vaccine could be reportedly 40 times less effective against the Omicron strain. This was enough to spook the markets despite early cases of new strain being reportedly milder.

The Stats

It was a quiet day on the Eurozone economic calendar. French nonfarm payrolls for the 3rd quarter were in focus.

Quarter-on-quarter, nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, following a 1.2% rise in the previous quarter. Economists had forecast a 0.5% rise. The stats had a muted impact on the majors, however.

From the U.S

JOLT’s job openings also failed to influence, in spite of upbeat numbers following the disappointing NFP figures from last week.

In October, openings rose from 10.602m to 11.033m. Economists had forecast a decline to 10.369m.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a bearish day for the auto sector on Wednesday. Daimler led the way down, sliding by 1.15% with Continental falling by 0.16%. BMW and Volkswagen slipped by 0.03% and by 0.06% respectively.

It was also a bearish day for the banks. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank saw losses of 0.26% and 1.44% respectively.

From the CAC, it was a mixed day for the banks. BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole fell by 0.22% and by 0.48% respectively, while Soc Gen rose by 0.76%.

The French auto sector also had a mixed session. Stellantis NV fell by 1.06%, while Renault ended the day up by 0.67%.

Air France-KLM and Airbus SE saw gains of 0.63% and 1.30% respectively.

On the VIX Index

It was a 3rd consecutive day in the red for the  VIX on Wednesday.

Following a 19.46% slump on Tuesday, the VIX fell by 9.09% to end the day at 19.90.

The NASDAQ rose by 0.64%, with the Dow and the S&P500 seeing gains of 0.10% and 0.31% respectively.

VIX 091221 Daily Chart

The Day Ahead

It’s a quiet day ahead on the Eurozone’s economic calendar. German trade data for October will be in focus going into the European session. With little else for the markets to consider, expect the numbers to influence the DAX30 in particular.

Later in the session, U.S, jobless claims will also provide direction.

From elsewhere, Inflation figures from China will set the tone. Another marked pickup in inflationary pressure could test support for riskier assets. There will be plenty of interest in both wholesale and consumer price inflation.

Away from the economic calendar, any further news updates on vaccine effectiveness will also impact the majors.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was up by 1 point.

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

About the Author

Bob Masonauthor

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.

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