The main European stock markets ended the week in mixed territory, with most indices up, driven by the technology and automotive sectors, where Volkswagen stood out by surging 6.6% after the supervisory board approved a new restructuring plan that includes job cuts and a reduction of its industrial footprint. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell about 0.2% over the week, while the DAX in Frankfurt ended practically flat and the CAC 40 in Paris and the FTSE 100 in London closed with slight losses.
The Portuguese PSI bucked the European trend by falling 0.14% to 9,388.77 points, penalized by corrections in heavyweights such as Galp, which led the losses by falling 2.29% to 20.52 euros due to the global devaluation of oil. BCP also fell 0.09% to 1.1485 euros and EDP Renováveis fell 0.45% to 13.14 euros. The Portuguese index thus added its third consecutive session in negative territory, breaking a cycle of four consecutive weeks of gains with a weekly loss of approximately 0.5%.
Markets were influenced by robust US employment data in August, which suggest a more dynamic labor market than expected, fueling fears that it will be harder to reduce inflation to the Fed's 2% target. This outlook reinforced the likelihood of an interest rate hike at the next Federal Reserve meeting. Jerónimo Martins stood out among the gainers in Lisbon by rising 1.22% to 18.23 euros, followed by Sonae with 0.50% gains, while EDP helped cushion losses by advancing 0.35%.
Oil prices continue to climb, with Brent trading above 95 dollars per barrel at 4:50 PM, driven by the conflict in the Middle East between the US and Iran, which shows no signs of resolution. MTrader noted that European investors well absorbed the US employment data, although the communication amplified concerns about a potentially more aggressive action by the US Central Bank in raising interest rates.
