Europe Indexes Advance, France Industrial Output at 7-month High, Spain Jobless Count Rises

Bridgette Randall
02 Feb, 2024
Frankfurt

European markets advanced in cautious trading a day after the Bank of England held its key lending rate and laid the groundwork for a possible rate cut later in the year.

Benchmark indexes in Frankfurt, London, and Paris inched higher, and investors looked beyond central bank actions.

This week, the central banks of the U.S., UK, and Sweden decided to hold key lending rates but stressed the need for higher rates until inflation is on a sustained downward path to the target rate of 2%.

 

Spain Reports Lowest Jobless In January

Spain reported a surge in registered unemployed individuals after the weakness in the service sector.

Despite the increase, the overall number of unemployed individuals in January was the lowest in the last sixteen years.

People registered with the unemployment office rose by 60,404, or 2.2% to 2.77 million in January, reported the Ministerio de Empleo y Seguridad Social on Friday.

Youth unemployment among jobseekers younger than 25 years of age in January was 201,154, the lowest for January since record-keeping began in 1996.

The services sector led the increase in joblessness with 58,721 people, followed by increases in agriculture with 1,256 and industry by 440, while there was a decline in the construction sector by 1,234.

A separate report from the Social Security Ministry revealed that Spain added 38,357 net formal jobs in January, increasing the total to 20.9 million jobs.

 

France Industrial Output Rebounded to a 7-Month High

France's industrial output rose 1.1% in December after rising by 0.5% in November, the statistical agency INSEE reported Friday.

Industrial production soared to a 7-month high after output advanced in mining, water supply, waste management, and energy by 5.9% compared to a decline of 1.7% in the previous month.

However, construction activities continued to decline at a faster pace of 2.8% from 1.2% in the previous month.

A year ago, industrial production advanced by 0.9%, compared to a 0.4% increase in November.

 

Europe Indexes and Yields

The DAX index increased 0.7% to 16,970.76, the CAC-40 index rose 0.5% to 7,630.06, and the FTSE 100 index inched higher by 0.4% to 7,654.56.

The yield on 10-year German bonds edged down to 2.17%; French bonds inched lower to 2.67%; the UK gilts edged lower to 3.81%; and Italian bonds inched lower to 3.73%.

The euro edged lower to $1.088, the British pound inched higher to $1.274, and the U.S. dollar gained to 85.63 Swiss cents.

Brent crude increased $0.52 to $79.52 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas decreased by €0.08 to €29.08 per MWh.

 

Europe Stock Movers

Electrolux declined 3.5% to SEK 94.08 after the Swedish home appliance maker reported a net loss that more than tripled in 2023.

Husqvarna increased 1.7% to SEK 83.16 after the lawn and garden equipment maker reported a smaller-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter.

Vinci SA added 0.9% to €118.14 after the French construction company won a six-year contract from Vattenfall, the Swedish energy company, to dismantle two units of the Ringhals nuclear power plant.

Wizz Air Holdings gained 5% to €25.0 after the discount airline reported a rise in passenger count in January compared to the previous year.