Friday, 12th March
German CPI (MoM) (Feb)
Spanish CPI (YoY) (Feb)
Spanish HICP (YoY) (Feb)
Eurozone Industrial Production (MoM) (Jan)
The Majors
It was a bullish day for the European majors on Thursday, which locked in a 4th consecutive day in the green.
The CAC40 rose by 0.72%, with the DAX30 and the EuroStoxx600 ending the day up by 0.20% and by 0.49% respectively.
A lack of economic data from the Eurozone, left the majors in the hands of the ECB on Thursday.
The ECB delivered for the markets, promising to ramp up bond purchases to address rising borrowing costs.
Going into the European session, news of the U.S Congress approving the $ 1.9 trillion relief package was also market positive.
The Stats
It was a particularly quiet day on the economic calendar on Wednesday. There were no material stats from the Eurozone to provide the majors with direction.
While there were no stats, the ECB delivered its March policy decision.
In line with market expectations, the ECB left monetary policy unchanged on Thursday. Addressing rising borrowing costs, however, the ECB vowed to significantly increase bond purchases over the next quarter.
From the U.S
The labor market was back in focus, with weekly jobless claims and job openings out late in the European session.
In the week ending 5th March, initial jobless claims fell from a revised 754k to 712k, which was better than a forecasted 725k.
JOLTs job openings increased from a revised 6.752m to 6.917m in January. Economists had forecast for openings to fall to 6.600m.
The Market Movers
For the DAX: It was a bearish day for the auto sector on Thursday. BMW slid by 3.66% to lead the way down. Continental (-2.24%), Daimler (-2.31%), and Volkswagen (-2.28%) weren’t far behind.
It was also a bearish day for the banks. Deutsche Bank slid by 2.57%, with Commerzbank falling by 1.67%.
From the CAC, it was a bearish day for the banks. BNP Paribas fell by 0.82%, with Credit Agricole and Soc Gen seeing losses of 1.93% and 2.26% respectively.
It was a mixed day for the French auto sector, however. Stellantis NV rose by 1.18%, while Renault slid by 3.29%.
Air France-KLM and Airbus SE ended the day up by 0.70% and by 0.14% respectively.
On the VIX Index
It was a third consecutive day in the red for the VIX on Thursday, marking a 4th day in the red from 8 sessions. Following a 6.12% fall on Wednesday, the VIX declined by 2.88% to end the day at 21.91.
The NASDAQ rallied by 2.52%, with the Dow and the S&P500 gaining 0.58% and 1.04% respectively.
The Day Ahead
It’s a relatively busy day ahead on the European economic calendar. Finalized inflation figures for Germany and Spain are due out along with industrial production figures for the Eurozone.
Barring a marked revision from prelims, expect the industrial production figures for the Eurozone to have the greatest impact.
From the U.S, wholesale inflation figures for February, together with consumer sentiment figures for March will also influence late in the session.
The Futures
In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was up by 31 points.
For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.
This article was originally posted on FX Empire