The Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s losing streak continues, as it closed Thursday trading at a loss of 0.2%. Marking seven consecutive days of losses, this has been the longest slump since February 2018.
European stocks experiencing longest slump since February 2018
Miners and technology stocks drew the shortest end of the stick, while utilities and healthcare subindexes regained some ground. Tech stocks did not escape the trend and took some amount of strain. Experts attributed this to China’s intention to broaden its ban on the use of iPhones, as government sectors and affiliates distance themselves from Apple.
Notably, these speculations affected not only Apple’s chip supplier, STMicroelectronics, but rippled out to European microchip producers such as Infineon Technologies and Nordic Semiconductor. This downward trend also impacted luxury goods manufacturers, such as Gucci and LVMH, as inflation affects demand.
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European stocks started September on the back foot in the wake of a 2.7% decrease in August. Newly released data showing minimal economic growth in August following poor export activities and a gross domestic product that gained only 0.1% in the past three months, added to the sombre state. Germany’s declining industrial output, as reflected in the latest statistics, added to these woes.
However, it seems the situation will soon improve as numbers indicate China’s trade is on the rise. As the world’s second-largest economy, this impacts the others. The chief market analyst from CMC Markets, Michael Hewson, commented:
This morning’s trade numbers for August did show an improvement on the July figures, but given how poor these were it was a low bar. While this is encouraging, demand for Chinese goods was still weak from an international, as well as domestic perspective.
