Categories: Markets

Euromarkets: The Stoxx 600 closed at -9% for the quarter, the worst performance since the beginning of 2020

Euromarkets: The Stoxx 600 closed at -9% for the quarter, the worst performance since the beginning of 2020

European stock markets closed with a significant daily drop on Thursday, with all key European indices in the “red”, in their worst quarter since the first quarter of 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic had temporarily “crushed” international markets.

The pan-European index Stoxx 600 closed on a daily basis with a drop of 1.58% to 406.88 points, with the banking sector leading the loss with a fall of 2.8%, as the supervisory authority of banks in the euro area called on financial institutions to conduct risk tests in possibility of a recession.

The index closed the quarter with losses 9%while since the beginning of 2022 it has lost 16.6%.

On a daily basis, the other pan-European index, Eurostoxx 50, closed with losses of 1.66%, at 3,456.05 points. The German DAX “lost” 1.61%, to 12,793.78 points, with the French CAC 40 to “write” a drop of 1.80%, to 5,922.86, while the British FTSE 100 fell 1.98% to 7,167.70 points.

In the periphery, the Italian FTSE MIB recorded a loss of 2.37%, to 21,315 points, while the Spanish ΙΒΕΧ 35 “lost” 0.99%, to 8,106.62 points.

Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab was among the best performers of the day, earning about 4% after receiving a order of SEK 7.3 billion ($ 713.9 million) for two GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning aircraft. and Control, with delivery date in 2027.

Among the companies with the worst performance was the German energy Uniper, with its share making a “dip” of 14%, as it withdrew its financial outlook for 2022 due to the restrictions on gas supply by the Russian Gazprom.

The company has received only 40% of the quantities stipulated in the contracts from the Russian company for the period from June 16, while it noted that its EBITDA for the first half of 2022 is expected to be significantly lower than those of the same period in 2021.

The stock market crash in Europe is coming amid a gray investment climate in wider international markets – with the war in Ukraine not seeming to be coming to an end and inflationary pressures expected to last.

The aggressive stance of interest rate hikes by central banks also intensifies fears of a global recession.

Provisional inflation figures for France in June rose to 5.8% year-on-year from 5.2% in May.

Investors also followed developments around the NATO summit in Madrid, where the leaders of the 30 Alliance countries formally invited Sweden and Finland to join the alliance, following the lifting of Turkish objections. NATO reaffirmed its support for Ukraine and revised its defense and deterrence strategy.

Source: Capital