EUROPE’S Stoxx 600 closed flat on Monday, as investors geared up for a slew of economic data from the euro zone and a key US inflation print later in the week that could test the benchmark index’s record-breaking run.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.02 per cent, not far away from record high levels. Automobiles led sectoral gains, recovering from a four-day losing streak, while defence stocks were the worst hit with a 1.2 per cent loss.
The benchmark index hit a record high on Friday, logging its biggest weekly gain since late January, of 3 per cent, underpinned by strong corporate earnings.
The Stoxx 600 regained its momentum midway into May, after geopolitical tensions and monetary policy uncertainties saw it wilt in April.
All eyes will be on the US producer and consumer prices inflation readings, due on Tuesday and Wednesday, which will further set the tone for the Federal Reserve’s anticipated rate cuts this year.
Back home, the euro zone’s final inflation and flash first-quarter GDP in the latter half of the week will be scrutinised to gauge the interest rate path for the European Central Bank, which has indicated a June cut, flagged uncertainties around policy outlook beyond that and stressed its independence from the Fed.
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“Even though many ECB speakers have stressed independence from the Fed, history tells us that divergences over the last 25 years were in hindsight seen as missteps,” analysts at ING Research wrote.
“Inflation dynamics tend to be linked and thus dismissing signs of reflation across the pond is ill-advised.”
On the day, healthcare stocks gained, with Novo Nordisk in the lead with a 3 per cent rise. Denmark’s Medicines Agency said the country faced a supply shortage for two doses of the firm’s Wegovy weight-loss drug in the coming months due to rising demand.
AP Moeller-Maersk jumped 7 per cent to top the main index, boosted by a rise in freight rates amid higher trade volumes and the Red Sea crisis.
Spanish pharmaceutical company Almirall advanced 1.3 per cent after a first-quarter results beat and reiteration of its full-year profitability targets.
German consumer electronics firm Ceconomy climbed 6.2 per cent after announcing full-year earnings above estimates.
On the flip side, Holcim lost 4 per cent as the Swiss cement maker’s stock was trading ex-dividend, while EDP dropped 3 per cent after brokerage Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to “neutral” from “buy”.
OX2 surged 40% after private equity firm EQT said it had made a recommended cash offer to buy the Swedish renewable energy group for 16.4 billion crowns (S$2 billion). REUTERS
