Home ›› 11 Jan 2022 ›› Stock
Europe’s major stock markets declined Monday in the absence of major corporate or economic data, as investors awaited all-important US inflation numbers later in the week, dealers said.
London stocks dipped 0.1 percent at midday, while Frankfurt fell 0.2 percent and Paris dropped 0.3 percent in early afternoon eurozone trade.
Oil prices flattened as traders mulled the supply-side impact of ongoing unrest in Kazakhstan, which is a member of the enlarged OPEC+ producers’ grouping.
“With a quiet start to the week for big corporate and economic announcements, markets could remain in a holding pattern until Wednesday when US inflation figures will reveal just how acute inflationary pressures are in the world’s largest economy,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
Traders will be keeping a watch on inflation readings out of both the United States and China this week as they try to assess the outlook for the global economy with rocketing energy costs and supply snarls compounding problems caused by the fast-spreading Omicron Covid variant.
Most Asian markets rose Monday with traders brushing off a negative pre-weekend performance on Wall Street.
US data Friday showed that fewer new jobs than expected were created last month but that wages saw a strong gain, keeping pressure on the Federal Reserve in its battle against inflation.
The closely watched non-farm payrolls figure on Friday came in well short of forecasts, marking a disappointing end to the year.
