{"id":54602,"date":"2025-01-02T17:59:17","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T17:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/01\/02\/european-stocks-close-first-trading-session-of-new-year-on-bright-note\/"},"modified":"2025-01-02T17:59:17","modified_gmt":"2025-01-02T17:59:17","slug":"european-stocks-close-first-trading-session-of-new-year-on-bright-note","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/2025\/01\/02\/european-stocks-close-first-trading-session-of-new-year-on-bright-note\/","title":{"rendered":"European Stocks Close First Trading Session Of New Year On Bright Note"},"content":{"rendered":"
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European stocks shrugged off early weakness and closed on a positive note on Thursday, the first trading session in 2025, despite data showing a sharp contraction in manufacturing activity in most of the major economies in the region in the month of December, persisting concerns on the geopolitical front.<\/p>\n

Automobile stocks underperformed amid concerns over U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats. Energy stocks gained as oil prices climbed higher.<\/p>\n

The pan European Stoxx 600 climbed 0.6%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 1.07%, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.58% and France’s CAC 40 closed up 0.18%. The Switzerland market remained closed for New Year holidays.<\/p>\n

Among other markets<\/span> in Europe, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Turkiye closed with sharp to moderate gains. Ireland ended flat.<\/p>\n

In the UK market, Endeavour Mining climbed nearly 5% and Fresnillo gained 4.5%. Marks & Spencer, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Airtel Africa, Centrica, Glencore, BP, Pershing Square Holdings, British American Tobacco, Hiscox, BT Group, Next, Shell and Whitbread gained 2 to 4%.<\/p>\n

AstraZeneca, Coca-Cola HBC and 3i Group also ended sharply higher.<\/p>\n

Howden Joinery, St. James’s Place, Persimmon and Intertek Group lost 1 to 2%.<\/p>\n

In the German market, RWE, E.ON and Hannover Rueck climbed 2 to 3%. Brenntag, Qiagen, HeidelbergCement, Vonovia, Deutsche Bank, SAP, Deutsche Telekom and Munich RE also closed with solid gains.<\/p>\n

Rheinmetall closed down nearly by nearly 2.5%. Volkswagen, Henkel, Fresenius Medical Care, Mercedes-Benz, Continental, BMW, Commerzbank, Daimler Truck Holding and Sartorius lost 0.6 to 2%.<\/p>\n

In the French market, Airbus Group shares gained more than 3%. Safran, Michelin, Engie, Orange, Sanofi, TotalEnergies, ArcelorMittal and Unibail Rodamco climbed 0.7 to 1.7%.<\/p>\n

In economic news, the euro area manufacturing sector continued to shrink in December on accelerated contractions in both orders and output, final data compiled by S&P Global showed. The HCOB manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell slightly to a three-month low of 45.1 in December from 45.2 in November. The flash reading was 45.2.<\/p>\n

Data from S&P Global said the HCOB Germany Manufacturing PMI came in with a reading of 42.5 in December, down from reading of 43 in both October and November. Sharp declines in output and new orders amid weak demand contributed to the contraction.<\/p>\n

Final data from S&P Global confirmed that the HCOB France Manufacturing PMI dropped to 41.9 in December from 43.1 in November. That marked the sharpest decline in manufacturing activity since May 2020.<\/p>\n

Final survey data from S&P Global revealed that the UK manufacturing sector deteriorated at the steepest pace in nearly a year in December, as output and new orders and employment fell at faster rates.<\/p>\n

The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index dropped to 47.0 in December from 48.0 in November. The flash reading was also 47.3.<\/p>\n

U.K. house prices grew 4.7% year-on-year in December, faster than the 3.7% increase in November and also stronger than economists’ forecast of 3.8% gain, data from the Nationwide Building Society showed earlier today. At the same time, on a monthly basis, house price inflation softened to 0.7% from 1.2% in November. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Market Analysis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n