European markets closed higher Tuesday, having built positive momentum throughout the holiday-shortened trading session ahead of the New Year holiday.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index opened a touch lower before reversing course to trade 0.27% higher by mid-morning, before provisionally closing up 0.4%. All sectors were in positive territory by the close of trade.
London’s FTSE 100 index and France’s CAC 40 both slid lower at the open before both recovering to trade around 0.5% higher; the FTSE 100 closed 0.6% higher to mark its fourth consecutive yearly gain. France’s CAC exchange rallied to close 0.9% higher.
Spain’s IBEX closed 0.5% higher as well, while the Dutch AEX index closed almost 0.8% higher.
European markets that were open today had a half-day of trading while markets in Germany, Switzerland and Italy were shut. All European markets will be closed on New Year’s Day before reopening on Jan. 2.
Among the best performing stocks on the Stoxx 600 index were Canal+, closing 4% higher, and Finnish oil refining company Neste, up 2.9%. Shares of JD Sports closed up 3.3%. The worst performer on the index was Portuguese energy company, Galp Energia which ended the trading session 4.2% lower.
European markets closed lower on Monday after the final full trading session of the year, but regional stocks look set to round out the year with moderate gains; the FTSE 100 is up 5.7% year-to-date while Germany’s DAX has outperformed, up almost 19%. The CAC 40 index in France, beleaguered with ongoing political turbulence, has fallen 2.2% year-to-date.
The Stoxx 600 is up around 5.9% so far this year, with the best performing sectors being banks (up 25%) then telecoms (up 15.8%) and financial services stocks, up almost 15%.
Food and beverage, autos and basic resources have been the worst performing sectors, all down around 12% over the course of 2024.
Putting the Stoxx 600’s performance in perspective, the U.S. S&P 500 index has gained around 24% this year.
Traders will again be keeping an eye on New York-listed shares of Boeing after one of its aircraft was involved in a fatal crash in South Korea on Sunday.
Boeing shares were down around 2.2% on Monday. South Korean authorities are set to conduct an investigation into the crash, in which 179 people died, in an effort to determine its exact cause.
The Boeing 737-800, the model involved in the crash, is one of the world’s most commonly used airplanes, and has a strong safety record.
U.S. stock futures were slightly lower ahead of the final trading session of 2024, following another booming year for Wall Street. Asia-Pacific markets fell overnight as China’s manufacturing growth missed expectations. The country’s benchmark CSI 300 was nonetheless on course to close the year higher, ending three years of losses.
— CNBC’s Chloe Taylor contributed to this market report.
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