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European indices end the day with declines

German DAX, -1.4%

The major European indices are ending the day with declines. A look at the provisional closes shows:

  • German DAX, -1.4%
  • France’s CAC, -1.5%
  • UK’s FTSE 100, -2.1%
  • Spain’s Ibex, -0.7%
  • Italy’s FTSE MIB, -1.3%
  • Portugal PSI 20, -1.63%
In the European debt market, the benchmark yields are moving higher, with investors shunning the risk year countries including Spain, Italy, and Portugal. France 10 year yields remain above the 0.0% level at 0.072%.

European shares end sharply lower on the day on global growth concerns

Coronavirus hurting major indices

European major indices are ending sharply lower on the back of global growth concerns as a result of the coronavirus.  The provisional closes are showing:
  • German DAX, -2.6%
  • France’s CAC, -2.7%
  • UK’s FTSE 100, -2.32%
  • Spain’s Ibex, -1.9%
  • Italy’s FTSE MIB -2.2%

In the European debt markets, yields are ending sharply lower with Italy leading the way after regional elections turned back attempts from Salvini’s attempt to bring national politics more to the right (and away from the EU).  Investors flocked into the Italian debt instruments.

European yields are sharply lower with Italy leading the way

In other markets as European/London traders look to exit are showing:
  • spot gold up $10.70 or 0.68% $1582.25
  • WTI crude oil futures are down $1.56 4-2.86% at $52.64. That is off the low $52.13.  Brent crude oil futures are down $1.77 or 2.9% at $58.93. It’s low reached $58.50

European major bourses are closing lower on the day

German DAX -1.0%. UK FTSE, -0.9%

The major European bourses are closing lower on the day.  Global concerns about the impact of coronavirus have sapped the energy from the stock market.
The provisional closes are showing:
  • German DAX, -1.0%
  • France’s CAC, -0.7%
  • UK’s FTSE 100, -0.9%
  • Spain’s Ibex, -0.6%
  • Italy’s FTSE MIB is trading near unchanged
In the European benchmark 10 year debt sector, yields are trading lower on the day. The Italian yields are down the most at -9.3 basis points. The others countries yields are down around 5 basis points each. Below are the basis point changes as well as the high and low yields trading today:
German DAX -1.0%. UK FTSE, -0.9%_

European shares end mostly lower. FTSE 100 does rise though

UK FTSE 100, +0.23%

The major European indices are ending the session mostly lower. The the exception is the UK’s FTSE 100 which has moved up by 0.23% on the day.
The provisional closes are showing:
  • German DAX, -0.28%
  • France’s CAC, -0.2%
  • UK’s FTSE 100, +0.23%
  • Spain’s Ibex, -0.24%
  • Italy’s FTSE MIB, -0.69%
In the European debt market, the benchmark 10 year yields are mostly lower (with the exception of the Portuguese 10 year note):
The European yields are lowerIn other markets as London/European traders look to exit for the day (and just ahead of the ceremonial signing of the US/China phase 1 trade deal):

  • Spot gold is up $4.25 or 0.28% at $1550.63
  • WTI crude oil futures are trading down $0.51 or -0.86% at $57.74
In the US stock market the major indices are higher and trading at record levels:
  • S&P index up 14.9 points or 0.46% at 3298.13 (high for the day). It is getting closer to the 3300 level
  • NASDAQ index is up 42.84 points or 0.46% at 9294.17. The high reached 9298.82 just short of the 9300 level
  • The Dow is up 168 points or 0.58% at 29108.24
In the US debt market, the yields are lower and the yield curve flatter again with the 2 – 10 year spread down to 22.44 basis points from 24.09 basis points at the close yesterday.

European shares little changed to end the week

Major indices lower on the week

The major European indices are in the week little changed. For the week, there are modest declines.

The provisional closes for today are showing:

  • German DAX, -0.1%
  • France’s CAC, +0.3%
  • UK’s FTSE, -0.1%
  • Spain’s Ibex, +0.35%
  • Italy’s FTSE MIB, unchanged
For the week, most indices are ending lower:
  • German DAX, -1.95%
  • France’s CAC, -0.44%
  • UK’s FTSE, -0.63%
  • Spain’s Ibex, -0.40%
  • Italy’s FTSE MIB, +1.1%
Looking at the hourly chart of the German Dax below, the index traded below its 50 hour MA on Monday, below the 100 hour MA (blue line) on Tueday and felll below its 200 hour MA (green line) yesterday. Today, that 200 hour MA was a lid for the brief ralllies.
On the downside, the 38.2% at 12260.52 is the next target.

“Markets Will Fluctuate”

In the 1927 book “Security Speculation – The Dazzling Adventure,” Laurence H. Sloan repeated the now famous anecdote 1  about J.P.Morgan’s view of the stock markets:

History has it that young man once found himself in the immediate presence of the late Mr. J. P. Morgan. Seeking to improve the golden moment, he ventured to inquire Mr. Morgan’s opinion as to the future course of the stock market. The alleged reply has become classic: “Young man, I believe the market is going to fluctuate.

Fluctuate indeed.

That simple truism seems to been lost to some folks, who were taken aback by yesterday’s market decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 274 points, but that sounds worse than it is; in percentage terms the retreat amounted to 1.24 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 38.1 points, or 1.54 percent; the Russell 2000 Index of small cap companies fell 1.78 percent (24.6 points) while the Nasdaq Composite Index had a 1.94 percent (123.2 point) fall.

As Bloomberg News noted, “Evidence is building that the market’s long stretch of tranquility is breaking. The S&P 500 swung at least 1 percent in three of the last six sessions after spending the previous three weeks without a move of more than 0.3 percent.”

The collective question investors are asking is “Why here and now?” It is tempting, and probably correct, to simply declare this the well-known random walk of markets. But rather than leave it at that, let us turn a critical eye to some of the explanations that were circulating. Here they are from least convincing to most . . .

Continues at: The Real Reason Markets Swooned Yesterday

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