After an uneventful week, the DAX has posted slight losses in the Monday session. Currently, the DAX is at 12,958 points, down 0.33% on the day. There are no German or eurozone releases in the Monday session. On Tuesday, here are two key events out of Germany – Preliminary GDP and ZEW Economic Sentiment.
Investors will be keeping a close eye on German data on Tuesday, with the release of Preliminary GDP and ZEW Economic Sentiment. The eurozone will also publish these indicators. Growth in the eurozone slowed in the first quarter, and GDP in both Germany and the eurozone is expected to fall from 0.6% in the fourth quarter to 0.4% in the first quarter of 2018. The markets are also bracing for weak numbers from the monthly ZEW surveys, which examines confidence levels among institutional investors and analysts. The German release was very soft in April, dropping -8.2 points. Another poor reading is expected in May, with an estimate of -8.0 points. The ZEW eurozone indicator also dropped sharply in April to 1.9, and little change is forecast in the May release.
In the U.S, April inflation levels remain low, as the Federal Reserve target of 2 percent remains elusive. CPI rebounded with a gain of 0.2%, but this fell short of the estimate of 0.3%. Core CPI edged lower to 0.1%, shy of the forecast of 0.2%. Inflation levels will be an important factor for the Fed in its monetary policy projection, which remains at two more hikes in 2018. The odds of a rate hike at the June hike stands close to 100%.
