European markets fall as investors assess China’s Covid relaxation and oil moves

Swedish real estate company SBB saw its shares surge 8% mid-afternoon to top the Stoxx 600 after presenting its pro forma earning capacity for 2023 following the sale of shares in education unit EduCo.

At the bottom of the index, German kitchen appliance maker Rational fell 7%.

-Elliot Smith

Ben Jones, head of macro research at Invesco, says Europe, however, has “a lot more bad news embedded in it.”

Per Roman, co-founder and managing partner of GP Bullhound, discusses the outlook for the tech sector and says that “the height of political risk is a real wake-up call for the tech industry.”

S&P Global’s final composite PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) for the Eurozone rose to 47.8 in November from a 21-month low of 47.3 in October, remaining below the 50 mark separating the expansion of contraction.

“A fifth consecutive monthly drop in output reported by the PMI adds to the likelihood that the euro zone will slide into recession,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

However, a slowing in the rate of contraction means the region is only likely to see GDP contract by 0.2%, Williamson predicted.

-Elliot Smith

The UK services sector contracted for a second consecutive month in November as the country’s cost-of-living crisis continued to weigh on demand, the PMI (Business Managers’ Index) showed on Monday. purchase) of S&P Global services.

The services sector PMI remained at 48.2, matching October’s 21-month low and remaining below the 50 mark separating expansion from contraction.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at S&P Global, said PMIs point to growing recession risk in the UK

“A change in government and its new economic policies may have helped stem some of the volatility in financial markets after September’s ‘mini-budget’, but the economic picture remains stubbornly unchanged,” Williamson said.

“The overall rate of economic contraction remained stable compared to October, indicating a decline in GDP at a quarterly rate of 0.4%. As such, this is the most difficult period in which the economy Britain has faced since the global financial crisis, excluding only the height of the pandemic.”

-Elliot Smith

Shares of grifols climbed more than 6% in early trade to top the Stoxx 600 after Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of the Spanish pharmaceutical company from “overweight” to “equal weight”.

At the bottom of the index, German kitchen appliance maker Rational fell more than 5%.

-Elliot Smith

Vodafone announced on Monday that its chief executive, Nick Read, would step down at the end of the year, with chief financial officer Margherita Della Valle replacing him on an interim basis.

Read’s tenure has seen the British telecom company sell assets to focus on Europe and Africa and expand its tower infrastructure unit, but he failed to organize the stock price relaunch. action demanded by investors.

Shares of Vodafone were up 1.8% shortly after the market opened.

Read more.

—Jenni Reid

Chinese tech, consumer and travel companies listed in Hong Kong saw strong gains in early trading after some cities in China saw some easing of Covid restrictions.

Tech heavyweights Tencent gained 5.5% and Meituan rose 3.5%, while Alibaba jumped 4.72% and Xiaomi added 7.31%. Electric vehicle stocks such as Li Auto jumped 9.19% and Nio 11.5%.

Meanwhile, shares of Hong Kong-listed casinos also surged, with MGM China up 12.44%, Wynn Macau up 12.35% and Sands China up 7.5%. Galaxy Entertainment increased by 3.61% and SJM Holdings increased by 4.82%.

Hotpot restaurant operator Haidilao climbed 15% and airline stocks also surged. China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines each increased by more than 5%, while Air China gained 4%.

The broader Hang Seng index rose 3.21%.

—Abigail Ng, Jihye Lee

Goldman Sachs sees an opportunity in electric vehicles that is on an “uptrend”.

That trend will accelerate as electric vehicles become “increasingly technology-driven” and easier to build, Goldman analysts said in a Dec. 1 report.

That should benefit a global stock, said Goldman, which gives the stock up to 90% upside in its bullish case for the company.

CNBC Pro subscribers can learn more here.

—Weizhen Tan

European markets are heading for a flat open on Monday as investors eagerly await more regional data.

Britain’s FTSE index is expected to open down 4 points to 7,554, Germany’s DAX up 2 points to 14,531, France’s CAC down 2 points to 6,740 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 14 points to 24,671, according to IG data.

The data released includes Eurozone retail sales for October as well as the final PMI data for November. There are no significant gains.

—Holly Ellyatt