Market: Sluggish start to the week with China


(CercleFinance.com) – The European stock markets are starting the week in a certain gloom (+0.1% in London, but -0.3% in Frankfurt and Paris), against a backdrop in particular of worrying statistics from China.

Due to health restrictions, Chinese retail sales fell 11.1% in April, far more than the decline expected by consensus, and industrial production fell 2.9% year-on-year as it was expected to increase slightly.

“However, contrary to the expectations of economists, Beijing does not seem to be in a hurry to implement stimulus measures likely to make it possible to achieve its annual growth objective of around 5.5%,” underlines Kiplink Finance.

The management company also points to the latest news on the geopolitical front, noting that ‘Finland and Sweden have indeed indicated that they are ready to apply for the Brussels headquarters of NATO, which will not simplify relations with Vladimir Putin’.

In other bad news, the trade deficit in the euro zone stood at -17.6 billion euros in March, after -11.3 billion the previous month, thus reaching its lowest level since the beginning of the time series. from 1999.

Still in terms of statistics, operators will take note, this week, of the latest figures for growth and inflation in the euro zone, the unemployment rate in France, as well as the price index in the United Kingdom.

In the United States, the Empire State index is due out this afternoon, followed by retail sales, industrial production, residential construction figures and the Conference Board’s leading indicators for April.

On the corporate results front, for example, those of Vodafone, easyJet, Generali and Richemont in Europe are expected these days, as well as those of Walmart, Home Depot, Applied Materials and Deere across the Atlantic.

In the meantime, Akzo Nobel gains nearly 1% in Amsterdam, helped by UBS which raises its recommendation from ‘neutral’ to ‘buy’ and raises its price target from 85 to 100 euros on the title of the supplier of paints and coatings protection.

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