European equity markets news: During today’s trading, European stock indices are mostly rising, except for the British indicator. The composite index of Europe’s largest companies, Stoxx Europe 600, rose 0.58% to 398.6 points.

German DAX gained 0.53%, French CAC 40 gained 0.52%, Italian FTSE MIB gained 0.44% and Spanish IBEX 35 gained 0.8%. This positively affects the market cap of European equity markets. 

European equity markets news – what’s going on? 

British FTSE 100 lost 0.35% in trading. International rating agency Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) on Friday changed its outlook on the United Kingdom’s rating to negative from stable due to the country’s “increasingly unpredictable political course amid worsening growth prospects and high inflation.”

Yesterday it became known that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not fight for the position of leader of the Conservative Party and, accordingly, the head of the British government. This gives a good chance of victory to the country’s former finance minister Rishi Sunak, notes the Financial Times.

Support to other European markets on Monday was given by signals that the Federal Reserve (FRS) may slow down the rate of prime rate rise from December.

Credit Suisse is up 1.4 percent. The Swiss bank said today that it will pay €230 million to settle a long-standing case in France over irregularities in cross-border transactions.

Business activity in the euro zone continues to weaken. The composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI), calculated by S&P Global, fell in October to 47.1 points, its lowest since November 2020, from 48.1 points a month earlier, preliminary data showed. An index value below 50 points indicates a decline in activity.

The euro zone’s manufacturing PMI fell to its lowest since May 2020 of 46.6 points in October from 48.4 points a month earlier; the service sector indicator fell to 48.2 points from 48.8 points in September.

In Germany, the composite PMI fell this month to its lowest since early 2020 of 44.1 points from 45.7 points in September. Germany’s industrial and service sector activity indicators fell to their lowest since June and May 2020, respectively.

In France, the composite PMI fell to 50 points from 51.2 points in September, with the industrial sector activity index falling to its lowest since May 2020. In the UK, the composite indicator fell to 47.2 points from 49.1 points, and the manufacturing PMI also fell to its lowest since May.

Earlier we reported on the situation in the world stock markets.