Quiet European open after Chinese stocks hit by US blocklist plans

Price action across European stock markets was muted on Friday morning, with investors reluctant to push equities much higher after a bullish previous session

Major markets across Europe dipped slightly at the open. After hitting a post-pandemic high on Thursday, the DAX (^GDAXI) fell 0.2% on Friday morning. The CAC 40 (^FCHI) dropped 0.2% in France, Spain’s IBEX 35 (^IBEX) fell half a percent, and Italy’s FTSE MIB (FTSEMIB.MI) dipped 0.25%

The best performer was the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) in London, although outperformance only translated to a gain of 0.1%. The FTSE 100 was boosted by weakness in the pound (GBPUSD=X), which is a positive for the index thanks to the inverse relationship between sterling denominated share prices and the dollar-based earnings of many of the index’s constituents

Retail sales data published on Friday morning in the UK showed spending declined for the first time in six months in November. The slump coincided with a month long lockdown across England

US futures were lower. S&P 500 futures (ES=F) dropped 0.2%, Dow Jones futures (YM=F) were down 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) fell 0.1%. Markets had hit record highs overnight thanks to optimism about a fresh stimulus package and vaccine rollouts across the US

Asian markets fell overnight. Japan’s Nikkei (^N225) lost 0.2% as the country’s central bank held its interest rate unchanged at -0.1% and launched a review of its monetary policy for the first time in four years.

In China, the Hong Kong Hang Seng (^HSI) dropped 1%, China’s Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) shed 0.3%, and the Shenzen Component (399001.SZ) slid 0.3%. It came as Reuters reported that the US was preparing to blocklist “dozens” of Chinese companies, including the country’s biggest chipmaker SMIC.

In Australia, the ASX 200 (^AXJO) dropped 1.2%.

 Source(s): YAHOO FINANCE