Nevertheless, although the Euro Area “in general” is not entirely out of gas and running on empty, it is running in place. Its economic performance for the next few years probably will be sluggish. There will be little or no economic growth, general government debt will remain quite high, and unemployment will stay very lofty.

The Eurozone economy is going nowhere fast on the road to recovery. Of course differences between individual nations exist; Germany is not Greece.

For the stock arena, take the SXXP index of 600 European stocks (though it includes United Kingdom and other non-Euro Area companies) as a benchmark (Bloomberg symbol is SXXP). This vehicle, like America’s S+P 500, has not moved in a sideways pattern, but instead has (despite some sharp twists and turns) flown sky-high since its 3/9/09 major low at 155.4 (S+P 500 major trough 3/6/09 at 667). The bottom line is that the probable path of European equities probably is closely bound with that of American stocks.

With the SXXP now around 325.0, what’s the rundown on some SXXP levels to monitor? Recall 332.9, the 5/19/08 high. The final top in the S+P 500, after its 10/11/07 pinnacle at 1576, also occurred 5/19/08 (at 1440). If prices fall from current levels, note that twice the 3/9/09 bottom is 310.8; keep an eye on 2/18/11’s 292.2 if prices stumble further. Unlike the S+P 500, the SXXP has not escaped above its 2007 peaks. Are prices for European equities circling back to their former record heights? In any event, if European stock prices venture even higher from current levels, watch 10/11/07’s summit at 391.3 and the major pinnacle of 401.0 on 7/13/07.

FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW to download this market essay as a PDF file.
Eurozone- Running in Circles (11-18-13)
Chart- German Govt 10 Year Note (for essay, Eurozone- Running in Circles) (11-18-13)