European Equities: Another Quiet Economic Calendar Leaves Earnings in Focus

Europe

Tuesday, 20th April

German PPI (MoM) (Mar)

Thursday, 22nd April

Deposit Facility Rate (Apr)

ECB Interest Rate Decision (Apr)

Eurozone Consumer Confidence Flash

Friday, 23rd April

French Manufacturing PMI (Apr) Prelim

French Services PMI (Apr) Prelim

German Manufacturing PMI (Apr) Prelim

German Services PMI (Apr) Prelim

Eurozone Manufacturing PMI (Apr) Prelim

Eurozone Markit Composite PMI (Apr) Prelim

Eurozone Services PMI (Apr) Prelim

ECB President Lagarde Speaks

The Majors

It was a mixed start to the week for the European majors on Monday.

Following solid gains from the week prior, the DAX30 fell by 0.59%, with the EuroStoxx600 ending the day down by 0.07%. The CAC40 avoided the red, however, with a 0.15% gain on the day.

There were no stats from the Eurozone or the U.S to provide the majors with direction.

The lack of stats left the majors to take their cues from the U.S markets, which pressured the European majors early.

A sharp rise in the EUR, which moved through to $ 1.20 levels, added further pressure on the DAX30 in particular.

The Stats

It was a particularly quiet day on the economic calendar on Monday.

There were no material stats from the Eurozone to provide the European majors with direction.

From the U.S

It was also a particularly quiet day, with no major stats to provide the majors with direction late in the day.

While there were no stats, corporate earnings were in focus later in the day. Coca Cola and IBM were amongst major names delivering earnings results late in the day.

Better than forecasted earnings from both Coca Cola and IBM failed to deliver support, however.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a bearish day for the auto sector on Monday. Continental slid by 2.79%, with Daimler and Volkswagen falling by 1.70% and by 1.41% respectively. BMW saw a more modest 0.23% loss on the day.

It was a mixed day for the banks, however. While Deutsche Bank fell by 0.59%, with Commerzbank ending the day up by 2.60%.

From the CAC, it was a bullish day for the banks. BNP Paribas and Soc Gen rose by 0.81% and by 0.69% respectively, with Credit Agricole gaining 1.09%.

It was a mixed session for the French auto sector. Stellantis NV rose by 1.00%, while Renault ended the day flat.

Air France-KLM followed on from Friday’s 2.24% rise with a 1.00% gain, while Airbus SE fell by 0.95%.

On the VIX Index

It was back into the green for the VIX on Monday, marking a 3rd daily gain in 9-sessions.

Reversing a 1.93% fall from Friday, the rose by 6.40% to end the day at 17.29.

The Dow and the S&P500 fell by 0.36% and by 0.53% respectively, with the NASDAQ declining by 0.98%.

The Day Ahead

It’s a quiet day ahead on the European economic calendar. German wholesale inflation figures for March are due out later today.

With the ECB expected to continue to deliver unwavering monetary policy support, we don’t expect too much influence from the numbers, however.

From the U.S, there are no material stats to consider, leaving the majors in the hands of COVID-19, geopolitics, and corporate earnings.

While market optimism continues to support the majors at the current levels, any spike in new COVID-19 cases would test market resilience.

On the corporate earnings front, Netflix and Johnson & Johnson are scheduled to release earnings results later in the day.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was up by 51 points.

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

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

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