Equity markets extended declines almost everywhere on Friday, despite positive major economic data release from China overnight, as risk appetite weakens.
Investors continue to flee both debt and stock markets this week after the latest US CPI report made investors realise the current hawkish policy isn’t going to stop or slow-down anytime soon. The recent policy switch from the Fed and the ECB wasn’t really fully priced in by investors as many struggled to assess how long they would last and, with the recent economic data underlining mid to long-term threats, this led to the strong bearish price action we’ve seen this week.
The situation is clearly bearish on most EU benchmarks this morning, with traders bracing for the EU CPI figures as well as a triple-witching day where erratic market moves usually happen.
The Stoxx-50 index has now broken-out of its short-term bullish trendline that has been supporting prices since the beginning of the month, and is now heading towards new monthly lows. Prices trade close to their first support (50% Fibonacci expansion) at 3,485pts with the 3,440pts zone in sight.
