FX.co ★ Stocks in Europe fall amid weak data from US

On Friday, major European indicators decline against the backdrop of permanently growing losses in the US stock markets.

So, at the moment of writing this article FTSE 100 lost 0.76% and dropped to 7607.5 points, CAC 40 decreased by 1.14% and traded at 7019.5 points, and DAX fell by 0.96% and hovered near 15343.

Participants of European stock markets estimated the closing of the US stock exchanges by an average drop of 2%. The negative dynamics of the US markets were also reflected in the sentiment of Asian investors. The main reason for the overall decline in world markets is the report on the record-high inflation in the United States since 1982. In annual terms, consumer prices at the end of last month had accelerated to 7.5% from 7% in December. Earlier experts had predicted an increase to only 7.3%.

Investors are assessing the prospects of a sharp increase in the interest rate and a tightening of monetary policy by the U.S. Federal Reserve amid alarming data from the US. On Thursday, experts from the CME Group reported that more than 70% of analysts expect the Federal Reserve to raise the rates in March to 0.5-0.75%.

Even the positive macroeconomic statistics from Germany and the UK could not support the European stock indicators on Friday. Thus, in December 2021, industrial production in the United Kingdom increased by 0.3% compared to November. The country's GDP in the fourth quarter rose by 6.5% year-on-year against the analysts' forecast of 6.4%. At the same time, the annual inflation rate in Germany dropped to 4.9% last month from 5.3% in December.

As for the results of Thursday's trading session on European stock exchanges, the day before stock indices showed very ambiguous results against the background of mixed financial statements of leading companies in the EU.

The index of major European companies STOXX Europe 600 lost 0.21%, closing at 472.35.

France's CAC 40 fell by 0.41% to 7101.55, Germany's DAX gained 0.05% to 15490.44, and UK's FTSE 100 rose by 0.38% to 7672.4.

At the beginning of Thursday's trading session, market participants benefited from positive financial reports of major European companies. The day before, Siemens, Societe Generale, and Unilever published their statements. Thus, Siemens and Societe Generale quotations grew by 4.7% and 3.2%, respectively. At the same time, Unilever reports were worse than expected, and its shares lost 1.3%.

Siemens AG soared by 4.7% on the background of a 19% increase in net profit and a 17% increase in revenue in the first quarter of the fiscal year.

Shares of one of the largest French banks Societe Generale S.A. rose by 3.2% thanks to a record annual net profit report.

The quarterly revenue of AstraZeneca increased by 62% to $12.01, and earnings per share increased by 56% to $1.67. At the same time, the company reported a net loss in the fourth quarter due to the purchase of the US company Alexion Pharmaceuticals. On Thursday, the pharma giant's securities rose by 3.4%.

Unilever Plc, one of the world's leading producers of food and household chemicals, lost 1.3%. In 2021, the net income of the company grew above market forecasts by 9%. In addition, the management of the corporation reported on a new program of redemption of securities worth up to 3 billion euros.

After the publication of quarterly reports shares of German industrial group ThyssenKrupp AG fell by 0.3%, quotes of French oil and gas company TotalEnergies sank by 0.9%, and securities of Swiss bank Credit Suisse Group AG dropped by 6.6%.