The first week of August did not bring significant changes in the major global stock indices. In Europe, British FTSE250 rose by 1.1%, German DAX increased by 0.3%, while French CAC40 declined by 0.7%. In the US, the NASDAQ went up by 1.1%, the DJI took off by 0.6% and the S&P500 soared by 0.4%. Investors focused on the readings of the PMI indices for the Eurozone which turned out to exceed the market expectations. The manufacturing PMI stood at 52 pts. and the services PMI amounted to 52.9 pts.. Meanwhile, the readings of the American ISM indices and the dynamic of the factory goods orders disappointed investors.

In the last week of July the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan were in the spotlight. In line with market expectations, the FOMC did not change the interest rates. The Fed reiterated that the latest data confirmed the good state of the US economy. However, the members of the council did not mention the potential date of the interest rates raise. Furthermore, the Fed pointed out that the most crucial factor was the inflation rate which was projected to remain low. As a result, the FOMC meeting was interpreted as dovish by market. Nonetheless, the Bank of Japan managed to arouse a little more emotions. The BoJ unexpectedly did not lower the interest rates, whereas it decided to increase the scope of its lending program.

There were plenty of indications that the negative effects of the bloody events in Turkey might have been noticeable on the world’s major stock markets. Meanwhile, the coup attempt and its aftermath did not affect the global market sentiment. During the whole week, British FTSE250 increased by 1.5%, German DAX went up by 0.8% and French CAC40 grew by 0.2%. In the US, the NASDAQ rose by 1.4%, the S&P500 soared by 0.6% and the DJI took off by 0.3%. The meeting of the ECB’s Governing Council was the highlight of the past week. However, it did not arouse any market emotions. The interest rates remained unchanged. During the conference Mario Draghi reiterated that Brexit was a significant source of the uncertainty.

Last week major stock indices liked the green color. In Europe, German DAX went up by 4.5%, French CAC40 rose by 4.3% and British FTSE250 soared by 3.4%. In the US, the DJI took off by 2%, while the NASDAQ and the S&P500 grew by 1.5%. Lately, the market sentiment was extremely bullish, especially in the US. Thus, the DJI and S&P500 managed to reach its historical peaks. It seemed that the emotions connected with Brexit subsided. Investors focused on data from the US economy. The dynamics of the industrial production and the retail sales amounted to -0.7% y/y and 2.7% y/y.

Last week the European stock markets were dominated by bears. During the whole week, French CAC40 declined by 2%, British FTSE250 decreased by 1.8% and German DAX deteriorated by 1.5%. Brexit continued to generate the uncertainty. Moreover, it had adversely impact on the market sentiment. To add insult to injury, the new burden for the stock markets was information on the problems of the European banks (especially Italian banks) and difficulties of the several British investment funds. Investors learnt the latest economic data as well. In the Eurozone, the dynamic of the retail sales stood at 1.6% y/y vs 1.8% expected.