Portfolio

Europe midday: Investors take profits amid reports of divisions in ECB

By Alexander Bueso

Date: Friday 03 Jul 2020

Europe midday: Investors take profits amid reports of divisions in ECB

(Sharecast News) - Investors took some profits on European stocks at the end of the week amid light trading volumes on account of the Independence Day holiday Stateside.
Reports of a new record in the number of daily Covid-19 infections in the US state of Florida and of intensive care units in Texas facing maximum capacity were also weighing on the mood nevertheless.

So too was a report on Bloomberg, citing multiple conversations with central bank officials, of increasing differences among top European Central Bank officials regarding the skew in emergency purchases of Italian government debt.

As of 1400 BST, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was down 0.55% to 366.63, alongside a 0.29% dip on the German Dax to 12,571.34 while the Cac-40 was off by 0.69% to 5001.14.

In parallel, front month Brent crude oil futures were down 1.23% at $42.61 while euro/dollar was drifting lower by 0.04% to 1.1234.

Also in the headlines, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a government reshuffle, including the appointment of a new Prime Minister, Jean Castex, from the country's Republican party.

The economic calendar was light on Friday, but what economic reports were published did come in ahead of forecasts.

IHS Markit's services sector euro area Purchasing Managers' Index for services was revised up from a reading of 47.5 for June to 48.5 on the back of improved readings for Germany and France.

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