Global Wrap: European Markets Mixed

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Global Wrap:

European Markets Mixed

Current Futures: Dow -13.00, S&P -2.00, NASDAQ -2.75

European shares lacked a clear direction in Tuesday trade, as some market participants consider that current prices as too expensive.

European markets are trading mixed, with U.S. futures losing a few basis points during the first part of the day on Tuesday. A similar pattern emerged on Monday during the European session, when S&P futures declined as much as 1% and the major European indexes were posting declines across the board. However, everything reversed during the U.S. open on Monday, and eventually the European and U.S. indexes found the strength to break above the prior tops, setting new highs for the current year.

The only sector that had a substantial positive contribution in Tuesday trade was the technology sector, while the banking, raw materials and carmakers sectors were trading below the break-even line. This is usually perceived as negative news, since the three sectors have the biggest weight in most regional indexes. A notable exception was Commerzbank, which is the today’s top gainer in the German Dax index. Moreover, the German bank had the biggest contribution to the index over the last three months, but then again is the worst performer since one year ago, when Lehman collapsed. 

Today, Sept 15 09 is the one year anniversary since Lehman filed for bankruptcy, and in doing so sent the global markets into a risk-aversion phase. Neither one of the G7 stock markets has managed to fully recover the declines since Lehman’s bankruptcy, with U.K. FTSE being the nearest, while Italy’s Borsa being the worst performer. 

Overnight, the U.K. FTSE lost 6.41 points (0.13%) to 5,012.44, while the German Dax declined 13.99 points (0.25%) to 5,606.25.

Crude oil for October delivery was recently trading at $68.90 per barrel, lower by $0.10. 

Gold for October delivery was recently trading down by $2.40 to $998.70.