Customers sit on the terrace outside a cafe in Paris, France, on November 10, 2021.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
LONDON – European stocks were flat in early trade on Monday as business activity data from Germany and France showed another decline in the region's two largest economies.
Pan-European Stoxx 600 Index Stocks opened slightly higher, rising just 0.06% at the open, with oil and gas, telecoms, technology and banks among the strongest opening performers. The index turned flat shortly after regional PMI data for France and Germany were released.
French CAC index After the preliminary comprehensive PMI data was released, the stock price fell nearly 0.5%. A measure of business activity in manufacturing and services fell in September.
The index was at 47.4, an eight-month low, well below the Reuters forecast of 50.6 and down from August's 53.1. HCOB data display. Readings below 50 indicate areas of contraction.
German business activity also shrank in September, with the preliminary HCOB composite PMI falling to 47.2 in September from 48.4 in August, hitting a seven-month low.
Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commerzbank (HCOB), said Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) outlook appeared to be “stuck in a technical recession”.
“Taking into account indicators such as the HCOB PMI, our GDP forecast for the current quarter shows a decline of 0.2% compared with the previous quarter. GDP has already contracted 0.1% in the second quarter. There is still some hope that the fourth quarter will be better because of wages Rise and fall in inflation will not only boost real incomes but also consumption, thereby supporting domestic demand.
Stock price trend
UK property portal stocks Move right Shares rose 2% after the group reportedly rejected another sweet takeover bid from Australian property-listed REA Group.
Elsewhere, German bank shares Commerzbank Reuters reported that the German government said over the weekend that it no longer plans to sell shares in the country's second-largest bank, and the company's shares fell 4.75% in early trading. The comments were seen as a sign that the government disapproved of the takeover of the Italian bank. UniCredit Bank Announced the acquisition of 9% of the bank's shares and became the second largest shareholder of the bank.
Global markets continued to rise after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points last week for the first time in four years. Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher overnight as investors digested monetary policy decisions from Japan and China, as well as steep interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
Enthusiasm for last week's interest rate cut pushed the blue-chip index to a record high, with Dow Jones futures nearly flat Sunday night.