Evolution of the international financial markets and evaluation of the main events and economic indicators of the previous day session. Available in English.
European stocks edged down on Friday, while U.S. stocks notched gains despite posting a slight loss on the week as investors faced the reality of a second coronavirus wave in Europe and the uncertainty around further stimulus in the U.S.
In a volatile session, investor sentiment swung from optimism to pessimism with news and economic sentiment data releases.
Investor sentiment improved yesterday as consumer confidence in the euro area rose to -13.9 points in September (-14.7 in the previous month), beating expectations. Nevertheless, the risk of a second wave of COVID-19 infections increases the chances of additional stimulus in the coming months.
In yesterday's session, investors traded with a risk-off mood amid concerns of growing COVID cases around the globe. Powell's speech in Congress in which he stated that the US economy is improving failed to provide much relief to investors, as he also said that there is a long way to go before a full recovery.
In the last session of the week, investors traded with a downbeat tone and stock indices declined across Europe and, following a tech sell-off, in the US. Asian equities, instead, increased mildly.
Market risk appetite declined in yesterday's session as investors continued to digest the outcome of the Fed meeting. Stock markets declined across advanced and emerging economies while the safe-haven JPY appreciated.
Markets started on a positive note but risk aversion took over as the Fed signaled that the outlook is highly uncertain.
Economic indicators favored a greater risk appetite in yesterday's session. China's industrial output rose +5.6% yoy in August while retail sales grew +0.5% and surpassed 2019 levels for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak. Also, German investor sentiment continued to improve in September according to the ZEW index.
Investors traded on a cautious note in the first session of the week. U.S. stocks advanced across the board (including the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which had been lagging in the last sessions) while European indices were mixed. In fixed-income markets, yields on U.S. and euro area core sovereign bonds were roughly unchanged.
Markets ended the week in a mixed session as U.S. tech equities continued to decline and investors digested the outcome of Thursday's ECB monetary policy meeting. Global stocks were lackluster, U.S. and German sovereign yields declined and euro area peripheral spreads nudged up amid lower risk appetite.