European Markets Post Worst Losses Since 2018

Bridgette Randall
30 Dec, 2022
Frankfurt

European markets closed down on the final trading day of 2022 with lingering worries of economic slowdown and the negative impact of future rate hikes dominating market sentiment. 

The rapid spread of Covid virus in China and the rising potential of global spread of the virus also hovered the market sentiment. 

Energy crisis in the region and the European Central Bank actions dominated market sentiment in 2022. 

With war in Ukraine far from over, energy prices soared multi-fold and natural gas prices surged to record highs and uncertainty about the supply chain are not likely to go away in 2023. 

The DAX index fell 1.1% to 13,923.59, the CAC-40 index decreased 1.1% to 6,502.49 and the FTSE 100 index dropped 0.8% to 7,451.74. 

In 2022, the DAX index declined 13.1%, the CAC-40 index fell 10%, the Swiss benchmark SMI index dropped 17.1% and the FTSE 100 index eased 0.7%. 

The DAX index and the CAC-40 index posted their worst decline since 2018 and the SMI index fell the most since 2008. 

Among the most active European bourse, Turkey index was the lone gainer with a surge of 185.9% after inflation hovered near 86%.  

Most European markets posted double-digit losses in 2018 after political turmoil in the U.S. and the U.S.' imposition of tariff on China imports and central banks hiking rates. 

In 2018, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its key lending rate to 2.4% from 1.4% in four equal increments.

 

Spain's Consumer Price Index Eased In December 

 Consumer price index, a measure of inflation, eased to 5.8% in December from 6.8% in the previous month, according to the flash estimate released by the National Statistics Institute in Madrid on Friday. 

The inflation measure on a monthly basis increased to 0.3% after falling 0.1% in the previous month. 

The annual pace of core inflation, which excludes unprocessed food and energy, accelerated to 6.9% from 6.3% in the previous month. 

On a monthly basis, the core rate of inflation accelerated to 0.8% in December from 0.7% in November.