August's prelim private sector PMIs from France, Germany, and the Eurozone and U.S PMIs will be the key drivers.
French Manufacturing PMI (Aug) Prelim
French Services PMI (Aug) Prelim
German Manufacturing PMI (Aug) Prelim
German Services PMI (Aug) Prelim
Eurozone Manufacturing PMI (Aug) Prelim
Eurozone Markit Composite PMI (Aug) Prelim
Eurozone Services PMI (Aug) Prelim
It was a bearish day for the European majors on Thursday. The CAC40 fell by 1.33% to lead the way down. It wasn’t much better for the DAX30 and EuroStoxx600, which saw losses of 1.14% and 1.07% respectively.
A combination of disappointing U.S data and market reaction to Wednesday’s FOMC meeting minutes did the damage.
The FOMC meeting minutes had been released after the European close on Wednesday, with the FED delivering a gloomy outlook on the economy.
Following the FOMC meeting minutes, the ECB’s monetary policy meeting minutes provided little comfort.
It was a relatively quiet day on the Eurozone economic calendar. Key stats included July wholesale inflation figures for Germany.
According to Destatis,
On the monetary policy front, the ECB’s monetary policy meeting minutes also drew attention. According to the latest minutes,
It was a relatively busy day on the economic calendar. August’s Philly FED Manufacturing Index and the weekly jobless claims were in focus.
In August, the Philly FED Manufacturing Index fell from 24.1 to 17.2. Economists had forecast a decline to 21.0. The employment sub-index declined from 20.1 to 9.0.
In the week ending, 14th August, initial jobless claims came in at 1.106m, which was up from 971k in the week prior. Economists had forecast 925k claims.
For the DAX: It was a bearish day for the auto sector on Thursday. Volkswagen slid by 2.02% to lead the way down. BMW and Continental weren’t far behind, with losses of 1.22% and 1.75% respectively. Daimler fell by a more modest 0.98% on the day.
It was also a bearish day for the banks. Deutsche Bank reversed Wednesday’s 2.59% gain, falling by 2.45%, with Commerzbank sliding by 3.66%.
From the CAC, it was a bearish day for the banks. BNP Paribas fell by 2.39%, with Credit Agricole and Soc Gen sliding by 2.71% and by 2.62% respectively.
It was also a bearish day for the French auto sector. Peugeot and Renault ended the day with losses of 3.08% and 4.86% respectively.
Air France-KLM fell by 2.45%, with Airbus SE declining by 1.54% on the day.
It was a 3rd consecutive day in the green for the VIX on Thursday. Following on from a 4.79% gain on Wednesday, the VIX rose by 0.80% to end the day at 22.72.
The S&P500 and NASDAQ rose by 0.0.32% and by 1.06% respectively, with the Dow gaining 0.17%.
A gloomy FED and disappointing economic data from the U.S supported the VIX on the day.
It’s a busy day ahead on the Eurozone economic calendar. Key stats include August’s prelim private sector PMIs for France, Germany, and the Eurozone.
Later in the day, August consumer confidence figures for the Eurozone will also be in focus.
Expect the prelim numbers to have a material impact on the majors on the day.
From the U.S, prelim private sector PMIs for August will also provide direction. The numbers are due out ahead of the Eurozone’s consumer confidence figures.
Away from the economic calendar, a number of key areas of focus remain. These include COVID-19 news, U.S – China tensions, and any updates on the U.S COVID-19 stimulus package.
In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the DAX was up by 83 points, with the Dow up by 92 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.