European stock markets are negative on the first trading day of the week as tensions escalate again in the Middle East.
Geopolitical risks originating from the Middle East continue to determine the direction of global stock markets.
The tension in the region, which remained relatively calm after the ceasefire on April 8, escalated again with the mutual attacks of Israel and Iran. Israel announced that it carried out retaliatory air operations against some targets in Iran following the Tehran administration’s ballistic missile attacks.
On the other hand, amid concerns about inflation and high oil prices, investors are starting to question the sustainability of the rise in artificial intelligence stocks, which also affects the selling pressure in the markets.
After the non-farm employment data announced on Friday in the USA came in above expectations, the strengthening of predictions that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will increase interest rates stood out as another factor that was effective in deepening the sales in the markets.
The renewed risk of conflict in the Middle East has become an important risk factor that could increase the pressure on European economies with high dependence on energy imports.
In the shadow of ongoing global inflation concerns, the monetary policy decisions to be taken by the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday will be closely followed. It is considered certain that the bank will increase interest rates by 25 basis points in 3 basic interest rates at this meeting.
On the other hand, according to the data announced today, factory orders for April in Germany, contrary to expectations, decreased by 3.8 percent on a monthly basis and increased by 1.6 percent annually, remaining below expectations.
Factory orders in Germany increased by 5 percent monthly and 6.3 percent annually in March.
The data in question pointed out that concerns about the growth outlook for the German economy continue.
With these developments, as of 10.25 in the European markets, the Stoxx Europe 600 indicator index is at 617 points, with a decrease of 0.8 percent, and the FTSE 100 index in the UK is at 10,335 points, with a decrease of 0.3 percent.
In Germany, the DAX 40 index is at 24,444 points with a 1.3 percent depreciation, in Italy the FTSE MIB 30 index is at 49,690 points with a 0.4 percent decrease, in France the CAC 40 index is at 8,150 points with a 0.8 percent loss, and in Spain the IBEX 35 index is at 18,223 points with a 0.7 percent depreciation.
Analysts stated that the Sentix investor confidence index will be followed in the Eurozone today.
