FUNDAMENTAL RISKS DRIVE EU EQUITIES LOWER

Interest rates, inflation, and earnings are at the forefront of risk sentiment as investors remain focused on the economic calendar. European equities are struggling to hold onto gains as lower earnings and accelerating recession fears have provided no reprieve for the DAX 40, CAC 40, and IBEX 35 which are all trading lower for the day.

DAX 40 Daily Chart

(Click on image to enlarge)

Chart prepared by Tammy Da Costa using TradingView

As the downward trajectory pertaining to EUR/USD remains intact, members of the EU (European Union) have agreed to reduce gas consumption by 15% (per country) from August in an effort to store gas for the winter.

This comes after Russia’s Gazprom announced its intentions to reduce the supply of gas to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 20% (from the current 40%), exacerbating fears of a complete cut off from Russian gas (of which Europe is largely dependent).

With the additional supply cuts expected to take effect from tomorrow (27 July), the probability of a complete shutdown of Russian gas to Europe has increased significantly, providing an additional boost to both Crude Oil and Natural Gas.

The gloomy outlook combine with elevated inflation has placed the ECB (European Central Bank) in a difficult position to hike rates as aggressively as the Federal Reserve (Fed), BoE (Bank of England) and even the SNB (Swiss National Bank) without triggering a severe recession.

Following stock counterparts, Bitcoin, Ethereum and a large portion of their alt-coin peers moved lower with BTC/USD threatening $21,000 currently holding as key psychological support.

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) Daily Chart

(Click on image to enlarge)

Chart prepared by Tammy Da Costa using TradingView

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