All EU Flags in front of the European Parliament, Flags in front of the European Parliament, Strasbourg, Alsace, France

The EA (European Area) is set to release several key pieces of data today which will see markets move on their release, depending on how the numbers come out.

Look out for the following from the EA today.

ECB Non-Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes – While the ECB have already decided to keep the stimulus flowing, the meeting minutes still generate a flurry of activity in European markets. You’ll likely see trading opportunities in and around the data release, which will reveal information on both current and possible future policy decisions.

EA Retail Sales – We’ll get a glimpse into how the retail sector is performing across Europe, with MoM and YoY sales data coming out in the late morning. This always has the potential to move markets and particularly retail stocks. Analysts expect to see a 0.3% increase MoM and a 1.5% increase YoY in retail sales. If the numbers come in as expected the status quo will probably be maintained. If they fail to meet expectations, expect a small sell-off in retail stocks.

EA Commission Forecasts – The EA commission will give its general forecasts for various sectors of the European economy. This is not as big a mover and shaker as policy meeting minutes, for example, but it still has the potential to cause a ripple through major European indices and have some potential impact on the Euro.

Keep your eyes open around these data releases. There will very likely be an opportunity, no matter what happens.