German Trade Surplus Expanded, Swiss Inflation Eased, Spain's Jobless Count Eased

Bridgette Randall
04 Dec, 2023
Frankfurt

Stock market indexes in Europe struggled to advance in Monday's trading, and the euro edged slightly lower.

Benchmark indexes in Germany, France, and the U.K. lacked direction, and investors reviewed the latest economic data from Spain and Germany.

Moreover, Swiss consumer price inflation in November slowed to 1.4% from a year ago, the Swiss Federal Statistics Office reported Monday.

Overall inflation slowed from 1.7% in October and dropped to a two-year low after inflation slowed for food and beverages, transportation, and healthcare.

The core rate of inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, slowed to 1.4% from 1.5% in the previous month.

 

Unemployed People Decline In Spain

The number of people registered as jobless decreased by 24,573 or 0.9% to 2.73 million in November, the Ministry of Employment and Social Security reported Monday.

The total count of unemployed declined to the lowest for a November month since 2007 after unemployment fell by 17,335 in services, by 2,654 in industry, by 2,175 in agriculture, and by 1,072 in construction.

A separate report by the ministry showed the net increase in employment in November rose by 10,350, increasing the total number of jobs to 20.75 million.

 

Germany's October Trade Surplus Soared

The German trade surplus rose more than expected after imports fell at a faster pace than exports in October, the Federal Statistics Office, or DeStatis, reported Monday.

Seasonally adjusted exports declined 8.1% to Є126.4 billion and imports declined 16.3% to Є108.6 billion.

Exports declined 0.2% and imports fell 1.2% from the previous month, largely because of the weakness in energy prices.

Trade surplus in October rose to Є17.8 billion from Є16.7 billion in September and Є7.8 billion a year ago.

Calendar and seasonally adjusted exports to the member states of the European Union declined by 2.7% to Є67.9 billion, and imports fell by 2.8% to Є56.9 billion.

Exports to countries outside the European Union increased by 2.9% to Є58.5 billion, and imports rose 0.8% to Є51.8 billion.

Germany's exports to the United States, its largest market, rose 5.7% to Є13.5 billion; to the People's Republic of China, they increased 1.5% to Є7.9 billion; and to the U.K., they advanced 5.6% to Є6.6 billion.

 

Europe Indexes and Yields

The DAX index increased 0.1% to 16,416.44, the CAC-40 index fell 0.3% to 7,324.96, and the FTSE 100 index decreased 0.6% to 7,488.12.

The yield on 10-year German bonds decreased to 2.36%; French bonds traded lower to 2.93%; the UK gilts declined to 4.17%; and Italian bonds inched lower to 4.13%.

The euro traded lower to $1.087, the British pound inched lower to $1.267, and the U.S. dollar eased to 87.21 Swiss cents.

Brent crude decreased $1.55 to $77.55 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas increased by €1.62 to €41.88 per MWh.

 

Europe Stock Movers

Energy complex stocks declined on worries about the OPEC+ production quota, and crude oil prices dropped as much as 0.5%.

BP decreased 1.9% to 469.15 pence, Shell dropped 1.7% to Є29.85, Repsol fell 1.7% to €13.94, and TotalEnergies dropped 2% to €61.06.

Mining stocks lacked direction on the ongoing worries about China's property sector.

Glencore declined 1.8% to 449.40 pence, Antofagasta fell 1.5% to 1,473.0 pence, and Anglo American dropped 2.9% to 2,244.50 pence.

Luxury stocks in Paris rebounded after dropping the previous week in the hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will keep rates steady at the end of its policy meeting next week.

LVMH added 0.6% to €699.50, Kering jumped 2.7% to €403.65, Richemont increased 0.8% to CHF 110.80, and Salvatore Ferragamo advanced 1.4% to €11.86.

Automobile stocks traded mixed, and investors are worried that higher interest rates for longer may negatively impact demand for vehicles in 2024.

Volkswagen Group added 0.1% to €107.14, Mercedes-Benz Group fell 0.2% to €60.0, BMW fell 0.9% to €95.35, Ferrari decreased 0.9% to €325.90, and Renault dropped 0.2% to €36.18.

Financial stocks traded mixed after bond yields drifted lower and the euro and the British pound held firm against the U.S. dollar.

Barclays added 0.5% to 142.48 pence, HSBC fell 0.3% to 602.50 pence, Deutsche Bank eased 0.1% to €11.51, UniCredit declined 0.2% to €11.51, Societe Generale rose 0.7% to €23.05, and UBS Group declined 0.2% to CHF 24.78.