by Pauline Foret
(Reuters) – European stock markets ended lower on Monday before a week which promises to be particularly calm when world stock markets will either be open for half a session or closed until Thursday during this holiday period.
In Paris, the CAC 40 ended down 0.07% at 7,269.47 points. In Frankfurt, the Dax fell by 0.23% and in London, the FTSE 100 rose by 0.15%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index is down 0.25%, the FTSEurofirst 300 is up 0.09% and the Stoxx 600 is up 0.07%.
The session did not allow European stocks to recover the losses incurred at the start of the session, trading having been particularly calm.
The Stoxx 600 is weighed down by the travel and leisure sector in the wake of the Swedish online gaming group Evolution, a fall which could not be offset by the strong rise of Novo Nordisk.
On the macroeconomic side, investors were able to digest Christine Lagarde’s latest comments published Monday in the Financial Times, in which she opposed the possibility of reprisals in the event of the imposition of customs duties by Donald Trump and indicated that the euro zone is “very close” to the 2% inflation mark.
VALUES
Novo Nordisk gained 5.67%, recovering part of the losses suffered at the end of last week after disappointing clinical results for CagriSema, its new drug against obesity.
Evolution lost 10.14%, bottom of the Stoxx 600, after the British Gambling Commission launched an audit of its operating license.
In Paris, Vusiongroup soared 14.32% after announcing the signing of an agreement with Walmart in the United States.
A WALL STREET
Across the Atlantic, the markets are also hesitant, barely fluctuating as the holidays approach.
At closing time in Europe, the Dow Jones lost 0.53%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 was almost stable at 0.05% while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.28%.
TODAY’S INDICATORS
The British economy has not changed in the three months since Prime Minister Keir Starmer came to power last July, official data published on Monday showed.
On the other side of the Atlantic, consumer confidence fell unexpectedly, standing at 104.7 after 112.8 in November, while analysts polled by Reuters had expected a figure of 113.3.
CHANGES
The foreign exchange market is evolving according to the declarations of the various global central banks this Monday, seeing the dollar strengthen against the euro against a backdrop of bets as to the monetary policy that the Federal Reserve will adopt in 2025.
The greenback gained 0.58% against a basket of reference currencies.
As a result, the single currency lost 0.39% to 1.0388 dollars.
Weighed down by the latest British macroeconomic data, the pound sterling lost 0.46% against the dollar.
RATE
Like the dollar, US bond yields are climbing this Monday pending clearer indications on the number of rate cuts in 2025.
The yield on ten-year Treasuries increased by 4.2 basis points to 4.5664% and the two-year by 3.2 basis points to 4.3443%.
European yields are also benefiting from Christine Lagarde’s latest comments in the Financial Times.
The ten-year German Bund yield gained 3.1 basis points to 2.3160% and the two-year yield rose 2.2 basis points to 2.0620%.
OIL
Oil prices fell on Monday after the latest US inflation data lifted concerns about the possibility of a supply glut next year.
Brent fell 0.95% to $72.25 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) fell 0.84% to $68.88.
TO BE CONTINUED ON TUESDAY:
The Euronext and Wall Street markets will only open for half a session on Tuesday December 24.
(Written by Pauline Foret)
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I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
