European Shares Set To Fall On Virus Concerns

European stocks may drift lower at open on Monday after China today reported 49 new coronavirus cases, raising fears of a second wave of infections.

Out of these, 39 are reported in the capital Beijing and three cases found in neighboring Hebei province, the National Health Commission said.

Meanwhile, Chinese economic data for May missed expectations, adding to growth worries.

China’s industrial production grew 4.4 percent on a yearly basis in May, faster than the 3.9 percent increase logged in April, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Economists had forecast a 5 percent rise.

Retail sales dropped at a slower pace of 2.8 percent in May from last year, slower than the 7.5 percent decrease seen in April. Sales were forecast to fall 2 percent.

During January to May, fixed asset investment decreased 6.3 percent from the same period of last year while economists had forecast a 5.9 percent fall.

The People’s Bank of China today injected CNY 200 billion funds into the financial system via medium-term lending facility at a rate of 2.95 percent, unchanged from previous operation.

Asian markets moved lower and oil prices fell around 3 percent, while gold prices held steady ahead of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s two days of Congressional testimony this week.

Eurostat is slated to publish euro area foreign trade figures for April later in the day. The trade surplus is forecast to fall to EUR 15.9 billion versus EUR 28.2 billion in March.

U.S. stocks rose sharply on Friday despite data showing increased coronavirus cases in several states that reopened. Consumer sentiment posted its second monthly gain in early June, helping markets rebound from their biggest rout in 12 weeks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average spiked 1.9 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 1 percent and the S&P 500 surged 1.3 percent.

European markets also advanced on Friday after a massive sell-off in the previous session on fears about a second wave of coronavirus infections.

The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.3 percent. France’s CAC 40 index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 both rose about half a percent, while the German DAX slid 0.2 percent.

Source: Read Full Article