EUROPEAN SHARES
Equity markets traded sideways on Monday, hovering around their annual highs, as investors digest the surprising decision from OPEC+ countries, at the beginning of a new quarter.
Most benchmarks slid shortly after the opening bell following an unexpected oil output cut announcement from OPEC countries, which sent black gold 5% higher. While higher oil prices normally tend to support stock markets, the news wasn't welcomed by equity traders here as it revives inflation concerns, which adds uncertainty to an already blurry mid-term context on monetary policy. This news may tempt some investors to look for safety, taking profits out of riskier assets, following solid performances registered at the end of the first quarter. However, traders are also eyeing a new batch of major macro data this week, which may prove market sentiment to be resilient as many investors already expect monetary conditions to improve this year.
The Stoxx-50 index still trades around 4330.0pts, a 2023 peak, with 4415.0pts as the next resistance level if prices manage to clear the current level.
Pierre Veyret– Technical analyst, ActivTrades
Equity markets traded sideways on Monday, hovering around their annual highs, as investors digest the surprising decision from OPEC+ countries, at the beginning of a new quarter.
Most benchmarks slid shortly after the opening bell following an unexpected oil output cut announcement from OPEC countries, which sent black gold 5% higher. While higher oil prices normally tend to support stock markets, the news wasn't welcomed by equity traders here as it revives inflation concerns, which adds uncertainty to an already blurry mid-term context on monetary policy. This news may tempt some investors to look for safety, taking profits out of riskier assets, following solid performances registered at the end of the first quarter. However, traders are also eyeing a new batch of major macro data this week, which may prove market sentiment to be resilient as many investors already expect monetary conditions to improve this year.
The Stoxx-50 index still trades around 4330.0pts, a 2023 peak, with 4415.0pts as the next resistance level if prices manage to clear the current level.
Pierre Veyret– Technical analyst, ActivTrades