European Indexes Fall as Investors Wait for Non-Farm Payroll Data

Non-Farm Payroll Data Disappoints: How Did Global Markets React?

(Continued from Prior Part)

European indexes trade lower

Major European indexes (DBEU) were on a downward spiral on May 6. Weak domestic data and cautious trading ahead of the US non-farm payroll data release resulted in the fall.

Specifically, the SPDR Euro Stoxx 50 ETF (FEZ) was trading 1.1% lower at 9:00 AM EST. The German DAX and French CAC 40 were also trading with a negative bias. They fell by 0.89% and 1.6%, respectively.

The non-Eurozone markets also registered losses. The United Kingdom’s (FKU) FTSE 100 was trading 1.0% lower. Sweden’s (EWD) OMX Stockholm 30 fell by 1.3%.

Eurozone retail indexes disappoint

The Markit Eurozone PMI ( purchasing managers’ index) for April was published on May 6, 2016. It registered the steepest fall since February 2015. Eurozone retail sales came in at 47.9, against the forecasts of 49.6. As for country-wise performance, Italy registered the lowest PMI at 42.6, a 14-month low. The German retail PMI was at a three-month low of 51.0, while the French PMI fell to 48.2.

Russian services PMI beats forecasts

The Markit Russian (RSX) service sector report showed the sharpest rise in business activity levels since March 2013. The rise was primarily attributed to the growth in new business, which was at its fastest in three quarters. The labor market saw a shedding of jobs despite an increase in the number of projects. The service sector registered higher input prices in April, with the inflation rate increasing to a three-month high. The increase was primarily attributed to the increase in fuel prices.

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Browse this series on Market Realist:

• Part 1 - Investors Get Bearish with Disappointing Non-Farm Payroll Data

• Part 3 - Australian Dollar Falls by 1.3% Following Rate Cut