Consumer goods gains offset by financial and real estate lossesEUROPEAN SHARES
Stocks opened mixed in Europe, with lower market volatility than usual, as traders brace for the last trading session of the quarter that will be full of macro developments.
Gains in the consumer goods sector have been offset by losses registered by financials and real estate shares, as investors are tempted to take some profits out following a sharp two-day bull run and ahead of key macro data this afternoon.
Investors who have priced in a more dovish approach from central banks are likely to closely monitor the new inflation print from the Eurozone this morning, while the US PCE Core index looms in the afternoon alongside another speech from ECB President Christine Lagarde. This is likely to significantly increase market volatility for the last session of the week, and provide investors with more visibility about where monetary policies will go, even though some Fed officials have already hinted that interest rates needed to go further up to combat sticky inflation.
That said, a pull-back in equities wouldn’t come as a big surprise to anyone following the market rally registered in the second part of March, and most benchmarks could potentially come back to test newly established support levels. The Stoxx-50 index seems to confirm this scenario so far after prices filled a bullish gap shortly after the opening bell, paving the way for an extended consolidation towards the 4,210/4,225pts zone.
Pierre Veyret– Technical analyst, ActivTrades
