The markets were unable to shake their losses as Thursday went on, with an ECB press conference on the way.
It appears that investors took issue with certain elements of China’s return to growth in the second quarter. Though, at 3.2%, the Q2 GDP reading was at the top end of estimates, it wasn’t the consumer-led rebound the markets were after, with retail sales down 1.8% in June against the +0.5% forecast.
The FTSE was down 0.6%, stuck under 6270. The DAX, meanwhile, slipped 100 points to 12850, with the CAC the worst hit, dropping 1% to 5070.
Disappointed with the UK jobs data – 649,000 people lost their jobs in lockdown – the pound fell 0.4% against the dollar and 0.3% against the euro, accelerating the decline seen just after the bell.
As for the Dow Jones, it is looking at a 150 point fall when trading begins stateside. That would wipe out more than half of the growth the Dow managed on Wednesday, leaving it only a handful of points about 26700 – as a reminder, yesterday the index saw an intraday peak of 27100.
In terms of the ECB meeting, the bank is expected to leaves it monetary policy unchanged, meaning extra focus will be put on the tone and content of Christine Lagarde’s press conference.
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