Hi, my name is Carl Rogan and every Monday morning I will be bringing you my views of what happened during the previous week and what to look out for in the coming week.
My views are my own and they do not constitute investment advice. My views are derived from Equiduct’s unique data set which represents a clean retail signal free of distortion from institutional investors and therefore are telling of what the sentiment of European retail investors is.
Without further ado, let’s dive right into it!
Last week …
Was quieter than expected with volumes dropping below €2.4billion.
There were no shocks from the Middle East and Q1 earnings updates didn’t provide a huge amount of stimulation to investors.
Madrid continues to have a quiet period of trading, so Paris was the most traded market on Equiduct for the second week in a row.
We’re seeing more activity in Milan this month and Zurich had a busy day on Thursday.
Santander continued to be the most traded stock, occupying top spot every day last week.
The energy sector saw less activity last week and Tech stocks were more heavily traded, with ASML and Soitec coming in second and third.
US markets surged to record highs on the back of positive Tech sector updates whilst European markets mostly finished the week down.
If oil prices continue to rise and the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, European stocks face a difficult period.
This week …
Has the potential for higher volumes, especially on Wednesday and Thursday. The majority of European markets will be closed on Friday however.
The Middle East conflict continues to cast a shadow over European markets. There is currently a ceasefire in place but things could change very quickly.
Many European countries have tried to limit the damage inflicted by rising oil prices with tax cuts and other measures. We are seeing Airlines begin to cancel summer flights now and the longer the Strait stays closed the gloomier the outlook will become. The uncertainty does appear to be impacting trading volumes and many retail investors will choose to bide their time.
We do have other Economic events happening this week which could stimulate volatility. Interest rate decisions are scheduled from Japan, Canada, the US, ECB and Bank of England.
No rate changes are expected but the commentary around these events will be interesting and will give an indication of how soon we can expect cuts or increases across different markets.
Q1 earnings season has been gradually building and is set to peak this week. We have US tech giants Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Meta all announcing this week. Some of the most traded European stocks are also set to announce updates including Santander, BBVA, Caixa, Total Energies, Repsol and BNP. So expect Wednesday and Thursday to see the highest volumes this week.
Plenty of potential for volatility in the coming week then. Will something significant happen in the Middle East? Will Tech stocks continue to soar in the US? It should be an interesting week ahead.
That’s all from me, until next week… Happy investing!
Carl
