Monday saw markets in Europe closed for the Easter Bank Holiday.
Tuesday saw markets pushed lower after falls in the technology, telecommunication, banking and airline sectors. Airlines were affected due to rises in oil prices, with more conflict in Israel. In Frankfurt, the Xetra Dax fell over 1.5% and in Paris, the CAC 40 fell by just short of 1.5%. Despite the falls, there was good news from Europe's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index. It rose from 48.6 in February to 50.0 in March, showing signs for recovery.
Wednesday saw a fairly flat day in Europe. By the time the markets closed in Paris, the US markets were starting to head southwards. However, Paris had closed and managed a slight gain. The news in Frankfurt was not so good, by the time their markets closed the US slide had started, affecting the Xetra Dax and pushing it down by over 0.5%. Oil stocks took an about-turn with investors taking profits.
Thursday seemed a continuation of Wednesday for oil stocks. They continued downwards. Drug stocks were also losers. However, during the day, European stocks had traded at a lower level than their closing levels. The comeback could be attributed to US markets, ignoring the days data and pushing on for the weekend. The European Central Bank also decided to leave interest rates alone at 3.25%, as expected . By close of play, the Xetra Dax was down by 0.7% and the CAC 40 was down by 2%.
Friday saw gains during the day for markets in Europe. However, the closing levels were not as far in the black as they could have been, due to weak technology stocks in the US. Nevertheless, at least one European market (with the exception of the UK) ended the day with gains - the Xetra Dax. It managed 0.3% by close of play. The news was not so good in Paris with the CAC 40 closing down by 0.5%.