In This Article:
Economic Calendar:
Monday, 30th December 2019
German Retail Sales (MoM) (Nov)
Spanish GDP (QoQ) (Q3)
Spanish HICP (YoY) (Dec)
Thursday, 2nd January 2020
Spanish Manufacturing PMI (Dec)
Italian Manufacturing PMI (Dec)
French Manufacturing PMI (Dec) Final
German Manufacturing PMI (Dec) Final
Eurozone Manufacturing PMI (Dec) Final
Friday, 3rd January 2020
German Unemployment Change & Rate (Dec)
German CPI (MoM) (Dec)
The Majors
It was a positive end to the week for the European majors, with the DAX30 rising by 0.27% to lead the way. The EuroStoxx600 and CAC40 saw more modest gains of 0.21% and 0.13% respectively.
While the EuroStoxx600 trailed the DAX30, it was a record close on Friday.
Positive sentiment towards trade and the anticipated boost to global trade terms continued to provide support at the end of the week.
The ECB’s economic bulletin also painted a slightly rosier picture, though there was a downward revision to growth forecasts to 2020…
The Stats
It was a quiet day on the Eurozone economic calendar on Friday. There were no material stats from the Eurozone to provide the European majors with direction.
There were also no stats from the U.S to provide direction, with volumes on the lighter side during the Christmas holidays.
A lack of stats placed greater emphasis on the ECB’s final economic bulletin of the decade.
Key points from the bulletin included:
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Incoming economic data and survey information, while remaining weak overall, point to some stabilization in the slowdown of economic growth in the euro area.
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The service and construction sectors remain resilient in spite of some moderation in the 2nd half of 2019.
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Favorable financing conditions, further employment gains, in conjunction with rising wages, the mildly expansionary euro area fiscal stance and growth in global activity are expected to support the euro area economy.
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On the projections, growth for 2020 was revised downwards to 1.1%. In 2021 and 2022 growth is expected to pick up to 1.4%.
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Risks towards growth remain, however. Geopolitical factors, rising protectionism, and vulnerabilities in the emerging markets leave risks to growth tilted to the downside. This has become less pronounced, however.
The Market Movers
For the DAX: It was a mixed end to the week for the auto sector. BMW led the way, rising by 0.85%, with Daimler and Volkswagen seeing more modest gains of 0.08% and 0.31% respectively. Continental bucked the trend on the day, falling by 0.24%.
It was also a mixed day for the banks. Commerzbank rose by 0.22%, while Deutsche Bank fell by 0.41%.