European Equities: Geopolitics and Corporate Earnings in Focus
Economic Calendar:
Wednesday, 24th July
German PPI m/m(Jun)
French Manufacturing PMI (Jul) Prelim
French Services PMI (Jul) Prelim
German Manufacturing PMI (Jul) Prelim
German Services PMI (Jul) Prelim
Eurozone Manufacturing PMI (Jul) Prelim
Eurozone Markit Composite PMI (Jul) Prelim
Eurozone Services PMI (Jul) Prelim
Thursday, 25th July
German IFO Business Expectations, Current Assessment, and Climate Indexes
French Jobseekers Total
ECB Monetary Policy Statement (Jul)
ECB Press Conference
The Majors
The European majors started the week on the rise, with the CAC40 leading the way on the day, gaining by 0.26%. The DAX30 and EuroStoxx600 weren’t far behind, with the pair up by 0.24% and 0.13% respectively.
With a lack of economic data out of the Eurozone or the U.S on the day, it was sentiment towards corporate earnings and monetary policy that provided direction on the day.
On the geopolitical front, while there were no major updates from trade talks, news of a planned face to face meeting was positive for the majors. The reality remains, however, that trade talks are likely to drag on.
The Stats
There were no material stats out the Eurozone or the U.S to influence on the day.
The Market Movers
From the DAX, it was a mixed bag for the auto sector. Daimler rallied by 1.37% on the day, with BMW ending the day up by 0.17%. Continental bucked the trend on the day falling by 1.75%, while Volkswagen ended the day flat. Continental suffered following a cut to its 2019 outlook on Monday.
It was also a mixed day for the banks. Deutsche Bank rose by 0.51%, while Commerzbank fell by 0.23%.
From the CAC, it was also mixed for the banks. Soc Gen slipped by 0.18%, while Credit Agricole gained 0.19%. BNP Paribas ended the day flat. Renault found support, rising by 0.45%.
The Day Ahead
It’s another quiet day on the economic calendar, leaving corporate earnings to provide direction, along with geopolitical risk.
The U.S – China trade talks and tension in the Middle East will be in focus. There will also be the announcement of the new British PM, who could be on the cusp of dragging Britain of the EU without a deal. On the corporate earnings front, the focus will be on U.S earnings results later in the day.
With the July FOMC meeting approaching, the FOMC blackout period started on Saturday, preventing any further FOMC member chatter. While the markets will continue to bet on a July rate hike, the big debate is how large a cut the FED will deliver.
At the time of writing, the DAX was up by 77.5 points, while the Dow Mini was up by 35 points.
This article was originally posted on FX Empire
