European Equities: The Futures Point South, with Stats on the Quieter Side

The Majors

It was a bullish end to the week for the European majors on Friday. The CAC40 rose by 0.56%, with the DAX 30 and the EuroStoxx600 ending the day with gains of 0.37% and 0.41% respectively.

Following a mid-week blip stemming from concerns over the state of the economy, the markets returned attention to vaccine news.

With the markets expecting a vaccine to become available by mid to late December, expectations of an economic rebound in early 2021 supported riskier assets.

News of easing restrictions also provided support. The CAC40 was the main beneficiary, which found additional support from news of falling new cases and hospitalizations in France.

The Stats

It was a relatively busy day on the Eurozone economic calendar. Finalized 3^rd quarter GDP, October consumer spending, and prelim November inflation figures from France were in focus.

The stats were skewed to the positive, providing the CAC40 with support through the early part of the session.

Consumer spending jumped by 3.7%, reversing most of a 4.4% slide from September. Consumer prices and the harmonized index of consumer prices both increased by 0.2% following a flat October. And finally, the French economy expanded by 18.7% in the 3^rd quarter, which was revised up from a prelim 18.2%.

From the U.S

There were no material stats with the U.S markets on a half-day for Thanksgiving.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a mixed day for the auto sector on Friday. BMW and Volkswagen fell by 0.83% and by 1.69% respectively. Continental and Daimler saw relatively more modest gains of 0.51% and 1.09% respectively, however.

It was a bullish day for the banks. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank saw gains of 1.20% and 1.85% respectively.

From the CAC, it was a bullish day for the banks. BNP Paribas rose by 1.06%, with Credit Agricole and Soc Gen seeing more modest gains of 0.37% and 0.80% respectively.

It was also a bullish day for the French auto sector. Peugeot and Renault ended the day with gains of 1.14% and 1.37% respectively.

Air France-KLM continued to find support, rallying by 4.82%, with Airbus SE eking out a 0.22% gain.

On the VIX Index

It was a 4^th consecutive day in the red for the VIX on Friday. Following a 1.80% decline on Wednesday, the VIX fell by 1.93% to end the day at 20.84. Thursday was a public holiday in the U.S.

On Friday, the Dow and S&P500 saw gains of 0.13% and by 0.24% respectively, with the NASDAQ rising by 0.92%.