A worker assembles VW ID.3 electric cars at the Volkswagen factory on July 31, 2020 in Zwickau, Germany.
Jens Schlueter/Getty Images
European stocks advanced on Monday, diverging from the U.S. after a rough week for markets.
Down 1.9% last week, the Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP,
The German DAX DAX,
U.S. stock futures, which will still trade despite U.S. markets being shut for the Labor Day holiday, were lower, particularly for the technology-oriented Nasdaq-100 NQ00,
Last week the tech-dominated Nasdaq Composite COMP,
SoftBank Group 9984,
“There was no specific trigger to the selloff but after extreme bullishness driven by monetary and fiscal policies, stock prices reached levels that could no longer be justified by fundamentals,” said Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM. “Liquidity and low interest rates alone cannot be the solution to everything, so it’s essential to see continued improvement in economic data and an end to the pandemic for sustainable upside in risk assets.”
Germany reported a 1.2% rise in industrial production for July, which was a slower than forecast rise.
The pound GBPUSD,
“It seems odd, to say the least, that the U.K. could be about to undermine its commitments to Ireland with upcoming legislation after the U.K. had recently taken steps in recent months to prepare Northern Ireland’s border for exit day. It suggests the U.K. is trying to increase the pressure to get a deal more to its liking rather than going for a hard exit,” said Kallum Pickering, senior economist at Berenberg.
Associated British Foods ABF,