Anticipations point to a subdued start for European stock markets this Wednesday. This sentiment is underpinned by China’s waning economic prognosis coupled with concerns of a stringent stance from the Federal Reserve.
Germany’s DAX futures dipped by 0.6% as the clock struck 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT). Concurrently, France’s CAC 40 futures mirrored this dip. Meanwhile, futures for the FTSE 100 in the U.K. registered a 0.4% descent.
The Asian equity landscape mostly trended downwards this Wednesday. Such tremors in the Asian market are likely to reverberate in Europe. These jitters stem from emerging indicators of economic deceleration in the globe’s penultimate economy – a significant accelerator of regional growth and a pivotal market for numerous European corporate behemoths.
China’s Economic Conundrum Deepens
Fresh data unveiled a decline in China’s new home prices for June, marking a debut for this year. This starkly highlights the mounting challenges besieging its pivotal property arena. To compound matters, China’s retail sales and industrial outputs for July were notably tepid. Furthermore, revelations from last week painted a picture of China’s economy grappling with disinflation during July.
Contrastingly, the U.S. retail landscape witnessed an upsurge in July. This potentially signals heightened inflationary pressures, indicating a bullish stance on interest rates in the planet’s premier economy. This comes hot on the heels of last Friday’s robust producer price indices.
U.K.’s Inflation: A Silver Lining with Clouds
The U.K. saw its annual core inflation rate retreat to 6.8% in July, a significant decrement from the previous 7.9%. The Bank of England might heave a sigh of relief with this update. However, it’s crucial to acknowledge that the inflation still towers, clocking in at threefold the 2% intermediate benchmark.
Moreover, recent disclosures illuminate a 7.8% ascension in Britain’s foundational wages for June, establishing a new pinnacle. This could stoke the fires of enduring inflationary tensions, considering the consecutive 14 interest rate hikes.
Pivoting to the eurozone, preliminary data for the second-quarter GDP is anticipated to be lackluster, showing a meager 0.2% growth. The industrial output figures might lean towards the negative.
Banking Sector Under the Microscope
Eager eyes await earnings reports from industrial stalwarts such as Denmark’s Carlsberg (CSE:CARLa) and the U.K’s Aviva (LON:AV). However, the banking realm is poised to capture significant attention, especially following Fitch’s cautionary note about potential downgrades for a myriad of banks, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) being a notable mention.
Crude’s Conundrum and Bullion’s Luster
Despite an impressive U.S. inventory offload, oil prices stumbled. An imposing 6.2 million barrel reduction was recorded last week according to the American Petroleum Institute. Awaiting further validation, the Energy Information Administration will release official stats later in the day. As of 02:00 ET, the U.S. crude futures declined 0.4% to touch $80.64 per barrel. On a similar note, Brent took a 0.4% hit to stand at $84.53.
On a brighter note, gold futures inched up 0.1% to reach $1,936.25/oz, and the EUR/USD also saw a 0.1% increase, positioning itself at 1.0911.
