European Equities: Service Sector PMIs and Geopolitics in Focus

In This Article:

Economic Calendar:

Wednesday, 5th August

Spanish Services PMI (Jul)

Italian Services PMI (Jul)

French Services PMI (Jul) Final

German Services PMI (Jul) Final

Eurozone Markit Composite PMI (Jul) Final

Eurozone Services PMI (Jul) Final

Eurozone Retail Sales (MoM) (Jun)

Thursday, 6th August

German Factory Orders (MoM) (Jun)

IHS Markit Construction PMI (Jul)

Friday, 7th August

German Industrial Production (MoM) (Jun)

German Trade Balance (Jun)

French Non-Farm Payrolls (QoQ) (Q2)

The Majors

It was a mixed day for the European majors on Tuesday. The CAC40 rose by 0.28% while the DAX30 and EuroStoxx600 fell by 0.36% and by 0.07% respectively.

A lack of stats left the markets to monitor the progress of the U.S stimulus package and corporate earnings results.

Adding to the market angst was continued concerns over COVID-19, with the WHO reportedly having said that a silver bullet may be elusive.

The Stats

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

From the U.S

Economic data included June factory orders that had a limited impact on the day.

In June, factory orders rose by 6.2%, following a 7.7% jump in May. Economists had forecast a 5.0% rise.

The Market Movers

For the DAX: It was another bullish day for the auto sector on Tuesday, following Monday’s manufacturing PMIs. Volkswagen and Continental rose by 2.19% and by 1.38% respectively. Daimler and BMW rallied by 2.88% and by 3.19% respectively, however, to lead the way.

It was also a bullish day for the banks. Deutsche Bank rose by 0.06%, with Commerzbank ending the day up by 1.93%.

From the CAC, it was a bullish day for the banks. Soc Gen rallied by 5.27%, with BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole rising by 2.04% and by 1.96 respectively.

It was also a positive day for the French auto sector. Peugeot rose by 3.41%, with Renault rallying by 6.79%

Air France-KLM and Airbus SE saw gains of 5.19% and 3.06% respectively.

On the VIX Index

It was a 3rd consecutive day in the red for the VIX on Tuesday. Following on from a 0.74% loss on Monday, the VIX fell by 2.14% to end the day at 23.76.

Progress towards the COVID-19 stimulus package and positive factory orders provided the U.S majors with support on the day.

The S&P500 and NASDAQ rose by 0.36% and by 0.35% respectively, with the Dow gaining 0.62%.

The Day Ahead

It’s a busy day ahead on the Eurozone economic calendar. July’s service sector PMIs are due out of Italy and Spain.

Finalized PMIs and are also due out of France, Germany, and the Eurozone.