Dr. Platon Monokroussos, Chief Market Economist, Deputy General Manager, Eurobank Ergasias S.A
HIGHLIGHTS
WORLD ECONOMIC & MARKET DEVELOPMENTS
GLOBAL MARKETS: Mirroring the positive tone in Asian bourses today, the majority of major European equity markets kicked off the week on a firm footing supported by increased expectations that the Chinese authorities will likely adopt additional easing measures ahead to support domestic economic activity. On the data front, focus this week is on US non-farm payrolls for April due on Friday which have the potential to assist the US currency regain some ground should they surprise positively.
GREECE: Official discussions between Greek authorities and the representatives of the institutions have reportedly gained speed in recent days though a divergence of views continues to exist on a number of issues, namely social security and labor market reforms. On the data front, he headline seasonally adjusted Markit Greece Manufacturing Purchasing Mangers’ Index (PMI) registered below the 50.0 mark separating growth from contraction for the eighth month running in April. Specifically, the headline index came in at 46.5, the lowest level since June 2013, from 48.9 in Mach.
CYPRUS: Speaking in the sidelines of the inauguration of a local project in Limassol on Sunday, President Nicos Anastasiades said that the domestic economy is on a recovery path and that the government “will do everything possible, in order to soon announce or see how we can implement some of the projects suspended due to the financial crisis”.
SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE
BULGARIA: Upbeat Q1 2015 domestic corporate earnings results favoured investor sentiment towards domestic equity, with the main SOFIX index ending 1.6% higher on the week.
ROMANIA: Strong EUR/RON selling pressures around mid-week pushed the pair to a 2-year low of 4.3750. However, a reversal of the downtrend thereafter saw the cross ending little changed on the week near 4.4250.
SERBIA: According to the flash estimate, real GDP decreased by 1.9%YoY in Q1 2015, following a decline of 1.8%YoY registered a quarter earlier. In other news, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said late last week that in view of the budget’s outperformance so far this year, the government plans to begin in August negotiations with the IMF over potential increases in civil servants wages and pensions, which may come into effect later in the year.
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