2023-09-04 17:09:03
Paris (awp / afp) – European stock markets closed slightly lower on Monday, after a session without much movement in the absence of American investors due to a public holiday in the United States, and for lack of major business publication.
Paris ended down 0.24%, London dropped 0.16% and Frankfurt remained close to equilibrium (-0.10%). As for the Swiss Stock Exchange, it saw its flagship SMI index fall by 0.19%.
“The American markets are closed today”, due to a public holiday (Labor Day), “and we end up with rather low trading volumes”, explains Alexandre Baradez, analyst at IG France. Investors’ attention focused on China at the start of the session, as European stock market indices were supported by the performance of Asian stock markets thanks to renewed confidence in the real estate sector.
Investors were relieved in particular by the announcement of the postponement of repayment of a debt of the ultra-indebted real estate giant Country Garden, scheduled for the weekend. However, “the momentum given by Asian markets has run out of steam”, observes Michael Hewson, analyst at CMC Markets, investors fearing that “these gains are mainly an automatic reaction to a slight rebound in home sales in two Chinese cities”, he explains.
The market will thus be attentive “to the PMIs of services in China and in the euro zone on Tuesday. These should continue to show a decline in activity, and even a continuation of the contraction in the euro zone”, commented Vincent Boy, analyst at IG France. In addition, “the weakness of the macroeconomics in Europe and China” is confronted with “still restrictive monetary messages from central banks”, notes Alexandre Baradez.
On Monday, the President of the European Central Bank (ECB) gave a speech in London in which she did not reveal anything about what the monetary institution could decide at its next meeting on September 14. “We have the impression that we are still threatened by a rate hike in Europe”, comments Alexandre Baradez.
Also this week, the Australian and Canadian central banks “must announce their monetary policy and the markets are waiting for a break from them”, underlines Vincent Boy. In addition, “the + beige book + of the Federal Reserve (Fed) on the economic outlook is also expected Wednesday evening”, he adds.
Volkswagen stagne
In Frankfurt, Volkswagen was treading water (-0.02%) while its flagship plant in Wolfsburg will have to partially stop for several weeks in September due to problems with the supply of parts from Slovenia, following bad weather on place, according to the German press. Mercedes-Benz gained 0.97% and BMW 0.30% as the Munich Motor Show (IAA), one of the biggest in the world, is in full swing.
On the side of oil and currencies
Crude prices were on the rise as the market watched for potential announcements from Saudi Arabia and Russia on extensions to their oil production and export cuts.
Around 6:00 p.m., a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in November, took 0.44% to 88.94 dollars.
Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in October, gained 0.45% to 85.93 dollars.
The dollar was trading slightly lower against the euro and the pound as investors were still digesting the latest US employment figures in a sluggish foreign exchange market due to a public holiday.
The dollar fell 0.17% to 1.0799 dollars to the euro, and lost 0.28% against the pound to 1.2625 dollars to the pound.
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