European markets closed lower on Friday as news about rising coronavirus cases, slowdown in vaccine rollout, fresh lockdown measures and concerns over rising bond yields and inflation weighed on sentiment.
U.S. Treasury yields steadied after a spike sent the benchmark 10-year yield to 1.75% for the first time since January 2020 in reaction to the Fed’s decision to allow inflation to accelerate more than normal.
In the U.K., vaccine rollout has slowed down due to short supply. Meanwhile, France has imposed new restrictions in some regions starting today.
The pan European Stoxx 600 slid 0.76%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX both declined by 1.05%, France’s CAC 40 shed 1.07% and Switzerland’s SMI edged down 0.06%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey closed weak.
Iceland and Netherlands edged down marginally, Denmark and Finland closed flat, while Portugal ended on a positive note.
Rolls-Royce Holdings declined more than 6%. IAG, BT Group, Burberry Group, Anglo American, Whitbread, Legal & General, Scottish Mortgage, Johnson Matthey, Standard Chartered, HSBC Holdings, CRH and BHP Group lost 2 to 4%.
On the other hand, Ocado Group, Sainsbury J, National Grid, DCC and Morrison Supermarkets gained 1.4 to 2.1%.
In Germany, Covestro, MTU Aero Engines, BMW, Deutsche Bank, Lufthansa, BASF, Deutsche Post, Siemens and Adidas lost 2 to 5%, while Deutsche Wohnen, RWE, E.ON, Vonovia, HeidelbergCement and SAP closed higher.
In the French market, Valeo, Airbus Group, Safran, BNP Paribas, Renault and Technip lost 3 to 4%. Publicis Groupe, Air France-KLM, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and Vinci also declined sharply.
Sanofi, STMicroElectronics and Atos closed notably higher.
The UK budget deficit reached its highest February level since records began in 1993, the Office for National Statistics revealed on Friday.
Public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, increased by GBP 17.6 billion from the previous year to GBP 19.1 billion in February. This was the highest February borrowing since monthly records began in 1993.
Public sector net debt excluding banks, rose by GBP 333.0 billion over the eleven months of the financial year-to-February, taking it to GBP 2,131.2 billion or around 97.5 percent of gross domestic product, maintaining a level not seen since the early 1960s.
Data from Destatis showed Germany’s producer prices rose for the third straight month in February. The producer price index increased 1.9% year-on-year in February, following a 0.9% rise in January. On a monthly basis, producer prices rose 0.7% in February, after a 1.4% increase in the previous month.
Market Analysis
European Stocks Close Lower On Virus Concerns, Rising Bond Yields
2021-03-19 18:10:07
