Cautious moves and mixed signs in the European markets

The main European indices ended their trading without finding any direction, in the first session after a week of extremely intense volatility worldwide.

In particular, the pan-European Stoxx 600 closed virtually unchanged at 433.35 points with a change of only -0.03%, having recovered from -0.8% found intra-conference. The raw materials sector moved with an increase of 1.5% while on the contrary the technology once again received pressures closing at -1.6%.

Elsewhere in Europe, the German DAX was down 13,964 points, down 0.45%, the French CAC 40 was down 0.23%, closing at 6,347 points, while the British FTSE 100 was up 0.63% at 7,464 points.

The picture was similar in the markets of the region, where in Italy the FTSE MIB completed around the unchanged at 24,033 points with a slight -0.06%, while in Spain the IBEX strengthened marginally by 0.19% to 8,353 points.

According to CNBC’s Beat Whitman of Porta Advisors, China’s zero-covid policy, the Ukraine war, and global supply chain disruptions that indicate a pandemic suggest that risk aversion in stock markets is expected to continue for some time to come.

“I do not think we are done with instability and the instability is not even excessive at this stage, but we clearly see that the risk appetite for financial assets has been significantly reduced,” Whitman said.

On the other hand, investors continue to assess the prospects for inflation and interest rates and geopolitical developments on the continent after Finland announced on Sunday that it would apply to join NATO. A historic move for the Nordic country, which until now has pursued a policy of neutrality for decades.

This afternoon, Sweden officially announced that it would also apply for NATO membership, with Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson talking about a “new era” for the Scandinavian country.

In the scope of results, Ryanair recorded losses of 355 million euros in the 12 months to March due to the pandemic, however its title remained virtually unchanged (-0.18%).

On the contrary, the Italian Interpump Group was at the top of Stoxx with + 5.1% after its own results, while on the contrary the British advertising S4 Capital sank with 9.7%.

Finally, in the macroeconomic news of the day, the eurozone announced trade deficit for the fifth consecutive month in Marchas rising energy prices due to the war in Ukraine, increased the value of imports.

In particular, the eurozone trade deficit stood at 16.4 billion euros in March, compared to a surplus of 22.5 billion euros a year ago. Imports rose 35.4% year-on-year in March, higher than the 14% year-on-year increase in exports.

In Germany, the outstanding balance of enterprises in manufacturing reached a record high as businesses struggled to meet high demand due to supply problems.

Even without a new order, production could continue for 4.5 months, Ifo said, citing the results of a survey in which about 2,000 companies took part between April 7-22.