European stock markets concluded Tuesday's trading session with mixed results as the Stoxx Europe Index saw a decrease of 0.41%. Germany's DAX faced a decline of 0.30%, while the FTSE in London fell by 0.75%. Conversely, France's CAC experienced a modest uptick of 0.12%, and the Swiss Market Index rose by 0.33%. Recent estimates of the euro area's balance indicate a significant trade surplus of 6.8 billion euros ($7.14 billion) for October, a decrease from the 9.4 billion euros reported a year earlier.
The euro area's exports of goods to the rest of the world totaled 254 billion euros, reflecting a 2.1% increase compared to October 2022. In Germany, the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment has dropped in the November survey, plunging 5.7 points from the previous month to a total of 7.4 points. "Economic expectations for Germany have been overshadowed by Trump's victory and the collapse of the German government coalition," stated ZEW President Achim Wambach in an official release.
"In the current survey, economic sentiment has declined, and the outcome of the US presidential election is likely to be the main reason for this." In the UK, data from the Office for National Statistics revealed a negligible increase in the number of payrolled employees from September to October, with a mere 0.1% rise. Turning to corporate news, French pharmaceutical company Sanofi and Teva Pharmaceuticals announced that a phase 2b study on duvakitug achieved its primary endpoints in patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, leading to a 3.3% increase in Sanofi's shares in Paris. On the flip side, shares in the distribution and outsourcing company Bunzl fell 5.7% in London, after indicating on Tuesday that deflation may be more persistent than initially anticipated, which is expected to have a slight impact on the group's adjusted operating profit in 2024. Furthermore, Stellantis is poised to reveal a long-term production strategy to the Italian government, which will include assigning a new mass-market model to an Italian factory.
Sources suggest that the European automaker might produce the new model at either its plant near Naples or at its facility close to Rome. Stellantis has not yet responded to requests for comments from MT Newswires..