Major European Indexes Traded Lower as Crude Oil Prices Fell
By David MeyerUpdated
European indexes are trading lower
Critical European indexes (DBEU) (HEDJ) were on a downward trajectory on April 7, 2016. Global growth concerns remain as crude oil (UCO) futures fell by over 2%. The SPDR Euro Stoxx 50 ETF (FEZ) was trading 1.4% lower at 1:00 PM EST. The German DAX and the French CAC 40 were trading 1.0% and 0.88% lower, respectively.
Among the other major European indexes (IEV), the Portugal PSI 20 Index fell by -1.9% while the Belgium BEL 20 index fell by 0.91%. In non-Eurozone markets, the losses were similar. The United Kingdom’s (FKU) FTSE 100 and Sweden’s (EWD) OMX Stockholm 30 fell by 0.37% and 1.3%, respectively.
French trade balance is at a 20-month low
The French finance ministry published the February balance of trade at 5.2 billion euros. This was below the forecast of 3.8 billion. The trade balance was 3.9 billion in the previous month. The current account came in at a deficit of 3.9 billion. This was much lower than the forecast of a deficit of close to 1 billion.
The euro-US dollar currency pair is directly related to the euro. It fell by 0.31% at 1:00 PM EST. The pound fell by 0.47%
Impact on the Market
Looking at the performance of European ADRs (American depositary receipt) in the banking sector, Deutsche Bank (DB) saw a sharp fall of 3.5% at 1:30 PM EST. French ADR Orange SA (ORAN) had a slight fall of 0.46%. Finnish company Nokia (NOK) also had a significant fall of 1.9%. Belgian company Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA (BUD) fell by 1.6%. CRH (CRH), an Irish construction company, fell by 0.36%.
