European Equities: COVID-19 Jitters Return as Wave 2 Hits Asia…

In This Article:

Economic Calendar:

Wednesday, 13th May

Eurozone Industrial Production (MoM) (Mar)

Thursday, 14th May

German CPI (MoM) (Apr) Final

Spanish CPI (YoY) (Apr) Final

Spanish HICP (YoY) (Apr) Final

Friday, 15th May

German GDP (QoQ) (Q1) 1st Estimate

German GDP (YoY) (Q1) 1st Estimate

French CPI (MoM) (Apr) Final

French HICP (MoM) (Apr) Final

Italian CPI (MoM) (Apr) Final

Eurozone GDP (QoQ) (Q1) 2nd Estimate

Eurozone GDP (YoY) (Q1) 2nd Estimate

Eurozone Trade Balance (Mar)

The Majors

It was a bearish start to the week for the European majors, with the CAC40 falling by 1.31% to lead the way down. The DAX30 and EuroStoxx600 saw more modest losses of 0.73% and 0.40% respectively.

There were no stats to spook the markets on the day, leaving the markets to consider the latest rise in new COVID-19 cases in Asia.

Both China and South Korea reported new clusters, raising concerns over the easing of lockdown measures in Europe. A 2nd wave of infections across the EU would certainly raise the prospects of a more extended lockdown period…

The Stats

It was a quiet day on the Eurozone economic calendar on Monday. There were no material stats from the Eurozone to provide the majors with direction on the day.

There were also no material stats from the U.S to provide direction later in the day.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was a mixed bag for the auto sector on Monday. Continental, Daimler, and Volkswagen fell by 0.41%, 1.28%, and 0.67% respectively. BMW bucked the trend, with a 1.25% gain.

It was a bearish day for the banks. Deutsche Bank slid by 2.08%, with Commerzbank falling by 1.26%.

Deutsche Lufthansa slid by 2.70%, with COVID-19 jitters and the UK’s lockdown easing plans bringing airlines back into focus.

From the CAC, the banking sector also struggled at the start of the week. BNP Paribas fell by 2.48%, with Credit Agricole and Soc Gen seeing losses of 3.25% and 2.70% respectively.

It was a mixed day for the auto sector. Peugeot fell by 2.12%, while Renault rose by 0.78%.

Air France-KLM and. Airbus SE saw relatively heavy losses of 3.32% and 2.80% respectively.

On the VIX Index

It was a 3rd consecutive day in the red for the VIX, which fell by 1.47% on Monday. Following on from an 11.01% slide on Friday, the VIX ended the day at 27.6

There were no stats to provide direction on the day. A lack of stats left market sentiment towards COVID-19 and lockdown measures to influence risk appetite.

Falling crude oil prices and fears of a 2nd wave of coronavirus infections as a result of an easing in lockdown measures limited the downside for the VIX.