By Peter Nurse
Investing.com – European stock markets fell on Monday as investors worried about rising geopolitical tensions between China and the United States and the global economic outlook despite a healthy rebound in German factory orders.
As of 04:00 ET (09:00 GMT), the DAX index in Germany was trading down 0.6%, the CAC 40 in France fell 1% and the FTSE 100 in the UK fell 0.6%.
German factory orders rose in December, rising 3.2% from December, a substantial rebound from the upward-revised decline of 4.4% in November.
This is the last sign that Europe’s largest economy will come through the winter without experiencing a dramatic crisis.
However, this positive news comes after strong US jobs data on Friday gave the Federal Reserve more leeway to continue tightening interest rates to fight inflation.
The European Central Bank also raised interest rates last Thursday, and its policymakers were keen to stress that more is needed to bring inflation under control.
The hawkish rhetoric has raised fears that growth on both sides of the Atlantic could stall this year, weighing heavily on corporate earnings in coming quarters.
Eurozone retail sales for December are expected to be released later in the session and are expected to show a 2.5% decline on the month, a year-on-year decline of 2.7%.
News that the US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the weekend also weighed on sentiment, a move that was condemned by Beijing who claimed the balloon had been used for weather and weather purposes. had accidentally drifted into US airspace.
In corporate news, Renault (EPA:RENA) and Nissan (TYO:7201) have received approval from their boards of directors to move forward with a restructuring of the 24-year-old alliance between the two car manufacturers.
Under the revamped partnership, which was announced last month, Renault’s stake in Nissan will drop from 43% to 15%, while Nissan has agreed to invest up to 15% in Ampere, the new vehicle division. electric cars from Renault.
Renault shares rose 0.1% on Monday, outperforming the broader negative tone.
Oil prices rose slightly on Monday, rebounding from last week’s heavy losses, helped by positive comments on the potential recovery in Chinese demand this year from the International Energy Agency.
IEA chief Fatih Birol said over the weekend that early signs point to a stronger-than-expected rebound in China’s economy, likely leading to a surge in demand for rough from the world’s biggest importer. .
Oil prices fell last week to more than three-week lows on fears that slowing growth in major economies like the United States and Europe will limit fuel consumption in 2023.
As of 4:00 a.m. ET, U.S. crude futures were trading up 0.6% at $73.83 a barrel, while the Brent contract was up 0.8% at $80.58. Both contracts fell 3% on Friday after strong US jobs data, leading to losses of around 8% for the week.
Additionally, gold futures were up 0.8% at $1,891.50 an ounce, while EUR/USD traded down 0.1% at 1.0785.
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