European stock markets open lower

European stock markets open lower

Wednesday, 24 February 2021 6:45 AM

(ABM FN-Dow Jones) European stock markets go lower on Wednesday.

IG expects an initial loss of 25 points for the German DAX, 12 points for the French CAC 40 and 30 points for the British FTSE 100.

European stock markets closed on Tuesday.

Confidence in the end of social restrictions boosted travel and leisure stocks on Tuesday as European indices traded flat or low for most of the trading day, with commodity prices close to multi-year highs.

British stock markets gained support on Tuesday from plans to gradually reopen the country, as presented by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday. The provisional date Johnson plans to remove all social restrictions is June 21st. Domestic holidays are possible again in mid-April.

The FTSE 100 departed on Tuesday [in eerste instantie] Lead with the strong performance of the travel and leisure stocks and commodities sector, which is at an eight-year high, ”said Michael Hewson, CMC Markets Analyst.

On a major economic front, the UK unemployment rate for the first three months of December was reported at 5.1 per cent on Tuesday, up from 5.0 per cent a month earlier.

In the euro area, inflation was actually found to be 0.9 percent in January, which, according to the final figures, is consistent with the opening figures.

Company News

British Airways’ parent company IAG and Air France-KLM rose 2.3 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively, on Tuesday. Lufthansa won 2.3 percent. Airline manufacturer Airbus was up 3.4 percent and Rolls-Royce was up 1.1 percent.

The hotel sector also performed well. French hospitality company Agor won 3.0 per cent, although the InterContinental Hotel Group eventually closed down 1.2 per cent.

European oil companies also performed strongly due to higher oil prices. BP was up 0.7 percent, Royal Dutch Shell was up 0.5 percent and Eni was up 0.6 percent.

The mining sector initially benefited from strong commodity prices, but profits evaporated during the trading day. Rio Tinto lost 0.4 percent, Anglo American 0.5 percent and BHP Group lost 0.1 percent.

HSBC lost 0.9 percent in 2020, after the banking company announced a 34 percent lower profit.

Euro STOXX 50 3,689.10 (-0.3%)
STOXX Europe 600 411,32 (-0,4%)
DAX 13.864.81 (-0.6%)
CAC 40 5,779.84 (+ 0.2%)
FTSE 100 6,625.94 (+ 0.2%)
SMI 10,609.03 (-0.8%)
AEX 664.06 (-1.1%)
Bell 20 3,826.95 (0.0%)
FTSE MIB 22.939,38 (-0,3%)
IBEX 35 8.252,10 (+ 1.7%)

American stocks

According to the American Future, Wall Street opens with a loss on Wednesday.

U.S. stock markets rallied slightly on Tuesday, recovering from previous losses, and the confession of central bank chairman Jerome Powell helped turn the sell-off before Congress.

All eyes were on Union President Jerome Powell on the first day of his half-year monetary policy report to Congress on Tuesday. Powell said the Federal Reserve will pursue much easier policies until the U.S. economy recovers further from the Corona crisis. “The economy is still a long way from our employment and inflation targets,” he added. Therefore, the Fed will continue to support the US economy with rates close to zero until there is a “significant improvement” in recovery.

The recent rise in the yields of US treasuries has dampened investor interest in risky assets, including stocks. Shares of technology companies in particular, which actually supported the broader market last year, are currently under pressure.

“The increase in bond yields certainly prompts investors and markets to reconsider their view of stocks,” said Invesco market analyst Paul Jackson. “Investing in government bonds seems to be the most attractive for the first time in months,” he said.

On a major economic front, it became clear that house prices in the largest metropolitan areas of the United States rose further in December. Home prices rose 9.8 percent year-on-year in ten major regions, and 10.1 percent in the top 20 regions.

U.S. consumer confidence in the economy soared in February. The index rose to 91.3 in February from 88.9 in January.

On a larger economic level, three releases are on the agenda in the United States on Wednesday. Weekly mortgage applications will appear in advance, followed by new home sales and weekly oil stocks in January.

Company News

Trading in technological heavyweights such as Tesla, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft was volatile on Tuesday. Tesla fell more than 0.5 percent, Apple flattened almost and Amazon eventually rose 0.3 percent. Microsoft lost 0.4 percent.

Home Depot opens its fourth quarter books. During the reporting period, sales were high as the do-it-yourself chain continued to benefit from locking operations. Comparable sales in the U.S. housing market increased 25 percent. Earnings per share of $ 2.65 were better than the 63 2.63 that analysts predicted. The stock fell more than 2.5 percent.

After quarterly figures were better than expected, the department store chain Macis won about 4.4 percent. The adjusted profit per share was 80 0.80 higher than the market expected 11 0.11. Analysts estimate $ 6.5 billion in revenue and $ 8.3 billion. The outlook for the current financial year was reasonable in line with analyst expectations.

Snapdragon was up 11.0 percent after executives predicted 50 percent revenue growth over several years.

Wells Fargo sells its asset management business to GTCR and Revens Capital for $ 2.1 billion. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year. The stock fell 0.4 percent.

On Tuesday, Nicola unveiled details of its plan for hydrogen-powered trucks with a range of 500 to 900 miles. The stock lost more than 5.0 percent.

S&P 500 Index 3.881,36 (+ 0,1%)
Dow Jones Industrial Average 31.537,35 (+ 0,1%)
Nasdaq Mixed 13.465,20 (-0,5%)

Asia

Asian stock markets were red on Wednesday.

Nikkei 225 29.815,27 (-1,1%)
Shanghai Mix 3.578.04 (-1,6%)
Hong Cheng 29,790.37 (-2.8%)

Evaluation

Quoted as Euro / Dollar 1.2147. When the US stock markets closed on Tuesday, the currency pair was still moving at 1.2147, while when the European stock markets closed, the signs were still 1.2158.

USD / JPY Yen 105.50
EUR / USD Euro 1,2147
EUR / JPY Yen 128.13

Macro-Agenda:
8:00 AM Economic Growth – Fourth Quarter End (Dld)
08:45 Business Confidence – February (Fra)
1:00 PM Mortgage Applications – Weekly (US)
4:00 PM New Home Sale – January (US)
16:00 Jerome Powell Report in the House of Representatives (US)
4:30 PM Oil Stocks – Weekly (US)

Company News:
07:00 Peugeot – Statistics Fourth Quarter (FRA)
07:00 Puma – Year Stats (Dld)
07:00 Telephonica Deutschland – Year Stats (Dld)
07:00 Worldline – Year Statistics (FRA)
10:00 PM Nvidia – Fourth Quarter Statistics (US)

ABM Financial News; [email protected]; Redactie: +31 (0) 20 26 28 999.