EU stocks bullish in anticipation of the Eurozone GDP release

EU stocks open higher in anticipation of Eurozone GDP release

Stock markets in the European Union opened higher on Tuesday morning as investors anticipate the release of the updated results of the Eurozone gross domestic product (GDP) data for the first quarter later today.

On Monday, the European Union has slashed its forecast against the backdrop of Russia’s war in Ukraine and disruptions to energy supplies. The EU GDP is expected to stand at 2.7% this year.

London’s FTSE 100 futures surged by 0.49% this morning with Germany’s DAX futures following at a 0.86% rise and France’s CAC 40 futures climbed by 0.56%.

Market sentiment has also improved in the Asia-Pacific region where market shares were higher on Tuesday after a bearish performance on Monday morning following poor economic performance reports from China.

In US, stock markets closed on bearish terms following a volatile trading day.

NASDAQ 100 was down 1.16%, the S&P 500 lost around 0.40%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), on the other hand, experienced minor gains rising by 0.083%.

Gold follows, also higher on Tuesday morning

Gold futures were bullish Tuesday morning gaining over 0.72% at $1,826.99 per ounce.

Silver was also up on Tuesday morning rising by nearly 0.60% while platinum fell by 0.02% and platinum was down 0.54%.

Oil prices lower Tuesday as Hungary resists EU ban on Russian oil imports

Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, insisted on Monday that his country was not ready to support any sanctions against Russia that would negatively affect Hungary’s energy security.

European Union leaders are pushing for an embargo on Russian oil as a protest to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Budapest had set a veto on the proposed oil embargo which requires approval from all EU nations to be officially put in place.

Overall sentiment remains bullish despite optimism from China as the country is considering a lift on its COVID-19 restrictions.

Brent Crude futures were down 1.87% Monday morning valued at $109.69 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures also fell by over 1.4% costing $109.94 a barrel.

UK, France data reveals unemployment rate falls

Unemployment rate in the UK slipped to as low as 3.7% for the first time since 1974, official data showed on Tuesday.

Meanwhile average earnings were up by 4.2% than the previous year.

In France unemployment rates reached a 14-year low standing at 7.3%, according to the statistics agency INSEE.

KKR to purchase ContourGlobal for over $2 billion

US-based global investment firm KKR & Co is set to buy the UK-based power generation company ContourGlobal for around $2.16 billion (£1.75 billion), as the company is looking to expand its power and infrastructure portfolio.

KKR is set to pay 236.6 pence for each of ContourGlobal’s shares – a 36% premium from the company’s closing price on Monday.

Vodafone saw 5% rise in full-year earnings

The UK-based telecommunication company reported on Tuesday that it saw a 5% surge in its full-year earnings, reaching estimates.

The firm also reported that its adjusted core earnings were around $15.92 billion (€15.21 billion). Group revenue increased by 4% to around $48.17 billion (€45.6 billion) driven by the company’s service revenue growth in Europe and Africa.

“We delivered a good financial performance in the year with growth in revenues, profits and cash flows, in line with our medium-term financial ambitions. Our organic growth underpinned a step-change in our return on capital, which improved by 170bps to 7.2%. Whilst we are not immune to the macroeconomic challenges in Europe and Africa, we are positioned well to manage them and we expect to deliver a resilient financial performance in the year ahead,” the company’s group chief executive, Nick Read noted.

The company will keep its focus on improving its commercial performance in Germany and strengthening its market positions in Europe.

Following the release of the results, Vodafone (VOD) stocks unfortunately remained low upon the market’s open early on Tuesday morning, losing nearly 2%.

BTC stable at over $30,000, around $7 billion removed from Tether

Bitcoin (BTC), the number one cryptocurrency by market capitalization is standing firm above the $30,000 mark, up nearly 2% this morning following a wide crypto market sell off last week which saw the cryptocurrency fall to values below the $27,000 mark.

Meanwhile stablecoin Tether’s (USDT) market value dipped by around 9% since 12 May amid a stablecoin crisis last week which saw the Terra USD (UST) stablecoin lose over 80% of its value.

Investors have pulled out around $7 billion from the cryptocurrency since it briefly lost its peg against the US dollar last week.

Note, cryptocurrency CFD trading is restricted in the UK for all retail clients.