The global auto cycle has had its day. The sector is not immune from a call into question in Europe

Since the beginning of the year, the European auto sector has been one of the weakest performers on the stock market. While economic growth prospects tend to be revised upwards in a context of lower deflationary pressures, we would have expected more encouraging signs from this sector. It seems that such a case is increasingly unlikely. Weighed down by weak domestic growth prospects after two years on the rebound, the sector finds itself dealing with the fallout of weak global prospects, the US administration’s ill-advised moves with respect to reflation, the decline in the price of oil and now, the rising euro… This is the view on a sector with characteristics that place it at the very heart of the challenges facing the financial markets in recent months.

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