LOGO
LOGO

European Market Updates

European Markets Trading Mixed Amid Greek Concerns

By RTTNews Staff Writer   ✉  | Published:  | Google News Follow Us  | Join Us
rttnewslogo20mar2024

The European markets are trading mixed in the afternoon on Tuesday, with the UK market erasing early gains, as Greek concerns persisted even though data showed that the Eurozone economy avoided a recession in the first quarter. The Asian markets ended mixed while the U.S. index futures are higher.

Amid continuing political impasse, Greece raised slightly more than the target amount at a debt auction that saw the country's borrowing costs rise and demand for its debt fall. The Public Debt Management Agency sold 1.30 billion euros of 13-week treasury bills against the auctioned amount of 1 billion euros. The yield rose to 4.34 percent from 4.20 percent in the previous sale on April 17.

Investors also look forward to a meeting between French president Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel later in the day to examine how they will overcome differences on tackling the sovereign debt crisis.

Meanwhile, Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker dismissed talks on Greece's exit from Eurozone as "propaganda" and said there was "absolutely no discussion" on Greece during Monday's euro area finance ministers' meeting. "Our unshakable desire is to keep Greece in euro," Juncker said after the meeting.

Moody's Investors Service on Monday downgraded 26 Italian banks after lowering the credit ratings of the country by a notch in mid-February. Moody's said the ratings for Italian banks are now amongst the lowest in advanced European countries, reflecting the banks' susceptibility to the adverse operating environments in Italy and Europe.

Additionally, UBS reduced its rating on global financials to "Underweight" from "Neutral."

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is adding 0.28 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is losing 0.11 percent.

The German DAX is adding 0.13 percent and the French CAC 40 is rising 0.44 percent. Switzerland's SMI is gaining 0.02 percent while the UK's FTSE 100 is losing 0.12 percent.

In Frankfurt, MAN is advancing 1.8 percent. BMW is moderately up, while Daimler and Volkswagen are languishing in the red.

Adidas is rising 1.7 percent, Beiersdorf is adding 1.3 percent and Henkel is gaining 1.2 percent.

Deutsche Bank is flat while Commerzbank is declining 1.8 percent.

ThyssenKrupp is declining 4.8 percent. The steel giant reported a loss for the second quarter, citing lower price levels and declining volumes resulting from production cutbacks. Citigroup cut the stock to "Neutral" from "Buy."

Meanwhile, peer Salzgitter also turned to a loss from a prior-year profit. Salzgitter shares are moderately higher.

Allianz is up 0.8 percent after reporting higher first-quarter profit.

Merck KgaA is declining 1.8 percent. The company reported a 49 percent decline in first-quarter profit.

Sky Deutschland is climbing 6.75 percent after narrowing first-quarter loss.

In Paris, Vivendi is gaining 3.9 percent after reporting first-quarter results.

STMicroelectronics is rising 2.7 percent and LVMH is adding 2.2 percent.

S&P raised Alcatel Lucent to "Hold" from "Sell." The stock is up 0.5 percent.

UBS raised Total to "Buy" from "Neutral." The stock is gaining 1.3 percent.

Societe Generale is up 1 percent and BNP Paribas is moderately higher. Credit Agricole is losing 1.4 percent.

Internet service provider Iliad is gaining 3.5 percent.

In London, G4S is climbing 3.8 percent. The security firm said overall revenues in the first quarter grew 7.5 percent at constant exchange rates.

Renishaw is climbing nearly 11 percent. The precision engineering company said its fourth quarter has started well with activity levels in April ahead of last year. The company sees higher adjusted pre-tax profit for the year.

Babcock International is advancing 5.1 percent after annual pre-tax profit increased.

International Consolidated Airlines is declining 2.8 percent.

Barclays is losing 1.4 percent. Lloyds Banking is losing 0.4 percent.

H&M is gaining 1.6 percent in Stockholm. The retailer said total sales for April including VAT in local currencies were down 1 percent from the previous year.

Unicredit is up 0.5 percent in Milan.

UBS raised Holcim to "Buy" from "Neutral." The stock is losing 0.8 percent in Zurich.

In economic news, Germany's economic sentiment fell more than expected in May, a survey by Mannheim-based Centre for European Economic Research revealed. The indicator of economic sentiment fell to 10.8 in May from 23.4 in April. Economists had expected the index to fall to 19.

Data released by the Federal Statistical Office showed that the German economy expanded more than expected in the first quarter. Gross domestic product rose 0.5 percent from the prior quarter, when it fell 0.2 percent. Economists had expected only 0.1 percent growth. Meanwhile, the French economy recorded zero growth due to falling investment.

Eurozone economy avoided a recession in the first quarter, flash data from Eurostat revealed. Gross domestic product for the 17-nation bloc remained flat sequentially after shrinking 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter. Economists were forecasting a 0.2 percent contraction for the first quarter.

China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.25 percent after data showed that foreign direct investment in the country declined for the sixth consecutive month in April. Investment was down 0.74 percent from the prior year, but the rate was slower than the 6.1 percent decline seen in March.

Australia's All Ordinaries and Japan's Nikkei 225 slid around 0.8 percent each, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.8 percent.

In the U.S., futures point to a higher open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the major averages fell sharply at the open, but staged a recovery in mid-day trading and moved back to the downside going into the close. The Dow fell about 1 percent while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 slid around 1.1 percent each.

In the commodity space, crude for June delivery is adding $0.02 to $94.80 per barrel and June gold is losing $0.6 to $1560.4 a troy ounce.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Market Analysis

Global Economics Weekly Update - Jun 01 - Jun 05, 2026

June 05, 2026 16:18 ET
A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.

Latest Updates on COVID-19