Stoxx 600 tries to recover from the sell-off in the European markets, at + 1%

Efforts to recover in major European stock markets, after 4 consecutive sessions with losses, brought the Stoxx 600 to a two-month low yesterday, amid a global sell-off sparked by concerns about persistently high inflation, rising interest rates from central banks and the possibility of a recession returning to the economy.

Wall Street fell free on Monday as the S&P 500 plunged 3.2% to 4,000 for the first time since March 2021. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2% and the tech Nasdaq plunged 4.3% as investors look increasingly concerned about the Federal Reserve’s ability to tame the highest inflation in 40 years.

A similar picture in the markets of Asia with Hong Kong recording the biggest losses, falling 2.8% on Tuesday. Shares of Chinese tech companies listed in Hong Kong fell more than 3.5%, while Hang Seng Tech plunged 4.7%.

Europe is now trying to break out of the risk-aversion pattern that is intensifying worldwide, as investors assess successive interest rate hikes from major central banks such as the Fed and the UK, while bond yields have risen internationally.

The European Central Bank has not yet tightened its monetary policy, but now appears to be considering raising interest rates in the summer.

In this climate, the pan-European index Stoxx 600 strengthened by 0.96% to 421 points, with the household goods sector adding 1.7% and leading the profits.

In the individual dashboard, the German DAX gains 1.2% on 13,545 units, the French CAC 40 adds 0.95% to 6,140 and the British FTSE 100 climbs 0.7% to 7,270 points.

On the periphery, the Italian FTSE MIB notes an increase of 1% to 23,080 points and the Spanish IBEX 35 gains 0.8% to 8,200 points.

In the field of results, Munich Re announced that earnings in the first quarter increased slightly due to lower damage from disasters, although it received a blow higher than 100 million euros from the war in Ukraine.