Eurozone Retail Sales Growth Slowed and German Factory Orders Advanced In March

Bridgette Randall
07 May, 2025
London

European markets traded down on Wednesday, and investors reviewed the fresh batch of earnings. 

Benchmark indexes in Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, and London declined, and investors awaited rate decisions from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England. 

On the economic front, German factory orders advanced in March, and retail sales in the eurozone edged up. 

Germany's new orders in the manufacturing sector increased by 3.6% in March from the previous month, adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects. Excluding large orders, new orders were 3.2% higher than in the previous month. 

Eurozone retail sales in March decreased from the previous month and increased at an annual pace from a year ago, according to  Eurostat. 

Retail sales declined by 0.1% from the previous month and rose at a slower pace of 1.5% from a year ago. 

On an annual basis, food, beverage, and tobacco sales increased by 0.6%; non-food store sales, excluding fuel, rose 2.3%, and gas stations' fuel sales rose 2.3%. 

 

Europe Indexes and Yields

The DAX index decreased by 0.02% to 23,245.47, the CAC-40 index edged lower 0.5% to 7,659.82, and the FTSE 100 index declined 0.3% to 8,573.71.

The yield on 10-year German bonds inched higher to 2.53%, French bonds increased to 3.26%, the UK gilts moved down to 4.50%, and Italian bonds edged lower to 3.62%.

The euro decreased to $1.14; the British pound was lower at $1.33; and the U.S. dollar was higher and traded at 82.40 Swiss cents.

Brent crude increased $0.79 to $62.94 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas was lower by €0.25 to €34.67 per MWh.

 

Europe Stock Movers

Fresenius Medical Care AG jumped 3.5% to €50.30, and the German dialysis service provider reported mixed quarterly results. 

BMW AG added 1.8% to €76.22 despite the luxury carmaker reporting a 23% fall in earnings in the first quarter.

Siemens Healthineers AG decreased 0.4% to €47.19 after the German medical company lowered the bottom end of its annual earnings outlook. 

Novo Nordisk AS edged up 2.6% to DKK 455.50 after the pharmaceutical company reported better-than-expected net income and lowered its full-year sales growth outlook. 

Zalando SE declined 1.8% to €30.59, despite the German online fashion retailer reporting strong first-quarter results and a sharp increase in gross merchandise volume.