In This Article:
Economic Calendar:
Thursday, 5th September
-
German Factory Orders m/m (Jul)
Friday, 6th September
-
German Industrial Production m/m (Jul)
-
Eurozone GDP y/y (Q2) 3rd Estimate
-
Eurozone GDP q/q (Q2) 3rd Estimate
The Majors
Wednesday delivered a rebound for the European majors. Leading the way was the CAC40, which rose by 1.21%, with the DAX30 and EuroStoxx600 gaining 0.96% and 0.89% respectively.
Outside of the economic data, which was market positive, a shift in sentiment towards geopolitical risk provided further support.
On Tuesday, MPs took control of Parliament, which yielded legislation to prevent the British PM to pull Britain out without a deal.
From the EU, news of Five Star Movement members voting, by a vast majority, in favor of a coalition with the Democratic Party was also a positive.
And from Asia, news hitting the wires of HK Leader Carrie Lam announcing plans to withdraw the extradition bill got things moving in the early part of the day.
The Stats
It was a particularly busy day on the Eurozone economic calendar on Wednesday. August service sector PMI numbers out Spain and Italy and finalized numbers out of France, Germany, and the Eurozone provided direction.
Service PMIs
Spain’s service PMI rose from 52.9 to 54.3, coming in well ahead of a forecasted 53.0.
The Italian service PMI fell from 51.7 to 50.6, which was worse than a forecasted 51.6.
France’s finalized PMI came in at 53.4, upwardly revised from a prelim 53.3. In July, the PMI had stood at 52.6.
The German service PMI came in at 54.8, upward revised from a prelim 54.4 and up from a July 54.5.
At the Eurozone level, the service PMI came in at 53.5, upwardly revised from a prelim 53.4. The Eurozone composite was also revised upwards, from 51.8 to 51.9. In July, the composite had stood at 51.5. According to the finalized August composite PMI survey,
-
France performed the best at a national level, with the August composite PMI hitting a 9-month high 52.9.
-
Spain also saw solid growth with the composite rising to a 4-month high 52.6.
-
Ireland and German ranked 3rd and 4th respectively, with the two seeing modest growth.
-
Italy trailed, with the composite PMI falling to a 3-month low 50.3.
-
The euro area private sector reported both an increase in new work and a 6th consecutive monthly fall in backlogs.
-
While new work increased, the rise was only marginal, with manufacturers and economies exposed to trade continuing to suffer.
-
Hiring across the private sector was at its slowest pace since March 2016.
Consumer Spending
Eurozone July retail sales figures failed to pin back the majors on the day, in spite of retail sales falling by 0.6%, month-on-month. Retail sales had risen by 1.1% in June.