European stocks inched up on Friday as investors digest fresh economic data and earnings reports. AstraZeneca shares rose on positive quarterly results. The drug company reported higher sales and earnings for the first quarter, and backed its 2021 outlook. The company’s stocks rallied nearly 3% following the report. Meanwhile, shares of Barclays dropped nearly 5% despite the U.K. bank beat first-quarter expectations due to a sharp drop in impairment charges.
Earlier in the day, data from China showed manufacturing and nonmanufacturing purchasing managers indexes for April expanding, but well short of expectations. In Europe, France’s economy grew 0.4% in the first quarter of the year, while Germany’s economy declined 1.7%. The Spanish and Italian economies contracted 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.
Against this backdrop, the FTSE 100 in London adds 0.31% to 6,982, Italy’s FTSE MIB sheds 0.05% to 24,265, France’s CAC 40 is up by just 0.02% to 6,303, while the German DAX 30 adds 0.47% to 15,225. US stock index futures tilted to the downside ahead of fresh economic data due later today. On Thursday, the report showed that the U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 6.4% annualized rate in the first quarter, while jobless claims fell last week to a fresh pandemic low.
In currencies, the USD index added to recent gains and moved closer to the 91.00 figure on the back of the recent rebound in US yields and the strengthened optimism over the US economic recovery. US 10-year Treasury yields appreciated to the 1.70% area after bottoming out around 1.53% during last week. As such, EURUSD extended its downside correction from yesterday’s peaks at 1.2150. The pair fell below the 1.2100 figure and could stay under pressure in the short term. The key support is still represented by the 100-DMA that arrives around 1.2050.
Meanwhile, oil prices edged lower on Friday following three days of gains that took the prices to fresh mid-March highs around $68.40. The futures were last seen trading in the $67.50 area, pressured by a rising dollar and a weaker risk demand. However, the overall picture remains upbeat, and the $70 barrier remains in focus. For the time being, concerns of wider lockdowns in India and Brazil offset a positive outlook on summer fuel demand.
Nathan Lambert, Head of Global FX Analytical Department