European stocks mixed; German factory orders weigh ahead of Eurozone CPI, payrolls

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By Peter Nurse 

AiVIF.com - European stock markets traded in a subdued fashion Friday after mixed German economic data, as investors await key Eurozone inflation ahead of the release of the widely-watched U.S. monthly jobs report.

At 03:45 ET (08:45 GMT), the DAX index in Germany traded 0.2% lower, while the CAC 40 in France traded flat and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. climbed 0.2%.

The main European stock indices received a boost earlier this week from a bigger-than-expected drop in the speed of German consumer price rises, raising hopes that the European Central Bank could rein in its aggressive interest rate hikes reasonably quickly.

This brings the release of Eurozone inflation data later in the session firmly into focus. 

The December CPI figure is expected to come in at 9.7% on an annual basis, only a small reduction from the 10.1% growth the prior month, but there is a degree of confidence within the markets that there could be a positive surprise with a bigger drop.

Data released earlier Friday showed that German factory orders, the most forward-looking of the hard data, fell by 5.3% from October, as businesses cut back on orders for big-ticket items in particular. 

The news from the country’s consumer sector was somewhat better, as retail sales volumes rose by 1.1% in November, a little more than expected, after a long-awaited government package aimed at cushioning the blow of surging energy prices led households to relax a little. Even so, sales were still down 5.9%, adjusted for inflation, from a year earlier.

The European data can set the stage for the U.S. jobs report later in the session, with nonfarm payrolls expected to have risen 200,000 in December, while the unemployment rate is seen staying at a healthy 3.7%.

Such healthy numbers could again stymie bets that an end to rate rises is coming anytime soon.

In the corporate sector, Sodexo (EPA:EXHO) stock fell 3.5% after the French catering and food services group confirmed its guidance for the year 2023 even as it beat expectations for its first-quarter sales.

Shell (LON:RDSa) stock rose 1.3% after the energy giant said it would take a $2 billion tax hit in the fourth quarter as its integrated gas trading soared. 

Oil prices rose Friday after the release of relatively bullish U.S. inventories data for last week, but the market remained on track for a large weekly loss as demand concerns continue to weigh.

Data from the Energy Information Administration, released Thursday, showed that crude stockpiles rose by 1.7 million barrels last week, but the bulk of this growth was driven by a nearly 3 million barrel release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Additionally, distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, dropped more than expected, and gasoline stocks fell 346,000 barrels, suggesting demand remained strong in the U.S. during the festive period. 

By 03:45 ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.2% higher at $73.78 a barrel, while the Brent contract rose 0.1% to $78.77. 

That said, both crude contracts were still set to lose around 7% this week on concerns a global recession at the start of 2023 will severely hit demand. 

Additionally, gold futures rose 0.1% to $1,842.05/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.0518.