European Equities: Brexit and U.S Politics in Focus, with no Stats to Influence

In This Article:

Economic Calendar:

Monday, 12th October

ECB President Lagarde Speaks

Tuesday, 13th October

German CPI (MoM) (Sep) Final

German ZEW Current Conditions (Oct)

German ZEW Economic Sentiment (Oct)

Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment (Oct)

Wednesday, 14th October

Spanish CPI (YoY) (Sep) Final

Spanish HICP (YoY) (Sep) Final

ECB President Lagarde Speaks

Eurozone Industrial Production (MoM) (Aug)

Thursday, 15th October

French CPI (MoM) (Sep) Final

French HICP (MoM) (Sep) Final

ECB President Lagarde Speaks

Friday, 16th October

Italian CPI (MoM) (Sep) Final

Eurozone Inflation (Sep) Final

Eurozone Trade Balance (Aug)

The Majors

It was a bullish end to the week for the European majors on Friday. The CAC40 rose by 0.71% to lead the way, with the DAX300 and EuroStoxx600 gaining 0.07% and 0.55% respectively.

There were no major stats to provide the majors with direction on the day, leaving U.S politics and Brexit to provide direction.

Positive updates from U.S President Trump and Speaker of the House Pelosi on progress towards a U.S stimulus package provided support.

For the broader market, Biden’s widening lead in the polls also eased concerns over political uncertainty next month. The markets are beginning to price in a blue wave and a clean sweep that would eliminate any Trump contention over the outcome. A clean sweep would also deliver more stimulus to support the economic recovery.

The Stats

It was a particularly quiet day on the Eurozone economic calendar. There were no material stats from the Eurozone or the U.S to provide direction.

While updates from Capitol Hill were market positive, a fresh pike in new COVID-19 cases pinned back the majors.

A reintroduction of containment measures in France and other member states could undo the economic recovery…

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a bearish day for the auto sector on Friday. Continental slid by 1.72% to lead the way down, with, BMW and Daimler seeing losses of 1.63% and 1.56% respectively. Volkswagen ended the day down by a more modest 0.12%.

It was also a bearish day for the banks. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank fell by 1.22% and by 0.80% respectively.

From the CAC, it was a bearish day for bank stocks. Credit Agricole and Soc Gen slid by 1.39% and by 1.41% respectively, while BNP Paribas fell by a more modest 0.89%.

It was also a bearish day for the French auto sector. Peugeot and Renault ended the day with losses of 1.83% and 3.35% respectively.

Air France-KLM reversed Thursday’s 1.76% gain with a 2.8% slide, with Airbus SE falling by 0.21%.

On the VIX Index

It was a 3rd consecutive day in the red for the VIX on Friday. Following a 6.06% slide from Thursday, the VIX fell by 5.16% to end the day at 25.00.