Stock markets diverged on Monday as investors followed a series of corporate earnings reports, while the oil prices plunged on concerns about Chinese demand.
European stock markets closed with no clear trendafter a month of July marked by economic indicators and business results.
The bag of Paris ended up losing 0.18%, while London dropped 0.13% and frankfurt 0.03%, practically unchanged.
Milan it gained 0.11% while in Madrid the Ibex-35 closed losing 0.87%.
Wall Street rose in the afternoon after opening lower the first day of August after a strong month in July.
The price of WTI crude fell 5% on Monday and Brent fell below 100 dollars a few days after the meeting of the cartel of OPEC+ producing countriesby concern about oil demand in China.
Around 1:10 p.m. GMT, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) American fell 5% to $93.69 a barrel and the marker North Sea Brentwhich is the reference in Europe, broke below the $100 barriertrading at $99.99, after losses of 3.83%.
Analysts consulted in a survey of Archyde.com lowered their forecast for average Brent prices in 2022 to $105.75 a barrel for the first time since April. His estimate for WTI fell to $101.28.
The purchasing manager index (PMI, benchmark indicator for the sector) prepared by the British economic information company IHS Markit it went from 51.7 points in June to 50.4 in Julybelow the 52 integers that analysts were predicting, according to figures published today.
A slowdown in the Chinese economywhich has been constrained by the restrictions against covid, It makes investors fear a drop in energy demand in the world’s largest consumer.
Investors are also concerned about the slowdown in Japanese manufacturing activity, which expanded in July at its weakest pace in 10 months, according to data released Monday.
The market is also pending the meeting of officials of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partners this Wednesday by videoconference, in which they will address the September production.
Two of the eight OPEC+ sources that participated in a survey of Archyde.com They said that at the meeting on August 3 a modest increase for September would be discussed. The rest said production is likely to remain stable.
The group’s new secretary general, Haitham al-Ghais, reiterated on Sunday that Russia’s OPEC+ membership is vital to the deal’s successreported the Kuwaiti daily Alrai.
The increase in Libyan oil production also influenced priceswhich reached 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), compared to 800,000 bpd on July 22, after the lifting of the blockade of several oil facilities.
(With information from AFP, EFE and Archyde.com)