Stock markets in Europe opened high but declined throughout the day. The initial optimism reflects the positive effects of recent decisions of the ECB, which has allowed them to overcome some risks of current conditions. At the macroeconomic level, the main point of the European agenda was the publication of the inflation level. The figures were slightly below the estimate of economists who have estimated a larger bending of prices, explained by the continued decline in fuel prices and its effects on the production costs of various goods. The importance of this data is lower than before, because investors know that the measures recently announced by the ECB will only have impact in the coming months. The European Union decided yesterday to extend the sanctions imposed on Russia until September this year. Qatar Airways acquired 9.99% of IAG, which holds Iberia and British Airways. European airlines have attracted the interest of buyers from the Middle East. Last year, Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates company, acquired 49% of Alitalia.
The US economy expanded at a slower pace than expected in the fourth quarter with the slowdown in corporate investment. A fall in government spending and a trade deficit growing took shine to greater gains in consumer spending over the past nine years. Gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 2.6%, after a 5% gain in the third quarter, which was the highest level since 2003. The estimate of economists pointed to 3%. Although the American economy is the most dynamic among the main economic regions of the world, some factors have weighed on US actions. One such factor is the strength of the dollar which reduces the competitiveness of US companies as well as the amount of revenue they generate in foreign markets. The companies in the SP500 have a very broad geographic exposure, making them sensitive to this factor. The second factor has to do with monetary policy. Although the FED proves “patient” (in the words of the central bank itself) in relation to rising interest rates, investors know that the trend is for monetary policy to be less accommodating in future. This trend contrasts with that observed in other economic areas such as Japan and Europe. Perhaps this is the most important factor to the extent that monetary policy the Fed was the main catalyst for the bull market started in 2009. In opposition to what has been observed in recent sessions, most companies which reported their quarterly accounts yesterday, managed to beat estimates.