Euro Retreats as Weak Data Spurs Bets on ECB Cuts – Europe Market Wrap

Weaker-than-expected statistics fuelled concerns that the region’s economic recovery has struck a wall, which led to bets on more aggressive rate cuts from the European Central Bank, which caused the euro to collapse and German rates to fall.

The dollar’s value declined by as much as 0.7% vs the common currency, making it the largest daily fall since June. The difference between benchmark yields on the French and German markets reached its biggest point since early August.

European equities were erratic, with the food, telecom, real estate, and utilities sectors performing the best due to defensive moves. US futures indicated moderate gains on Wall Street following the Federal Reserve’s massive rate decrease last week, with indices trading close to all-time highs

As the manufacturing slump in the region deepens and the political unrest in France persists, investors are become more cautious when it comes to European assets. Following poor PMI readings for Germany and France on Monday, figures revealed that the private sector economy in the eurozone contracted for the first time since March.