The collective index for European stock exchanges, the Stoxx 600, closed up 0.2 percent on Friday and thus marked the biggest annual rise since the peak year of 2021, with an increase of 12.64 percent.
In comparison, the Oslo stock exchange ended the year with an increase of 9.89 per cent.
The UK stock market closed early on the last trading day of 2023, underperforming other European benchmarks, up 3.8 per cent this year. In Italy, the Milan stock exchange rose 28 percent this year, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index rose 23 percent. In France, the Paris Stock Exchange ended up 16.4 percent.
For the German DAX index (Frankfurt stock exchange), 2023 was the best year since 2019 with an increase of 20 percent.
Novo Nordisk at the top
The individual share with the biggest rise on the Stoxx 600 was Novo Nordisk, which had a strong rise after the company launched its new weight loss drugs. The Danish company saw an increase of about 48 percent in 2023. The pharmaceutical company was followed by the chip equipment manufacturer ASML Holding NV, the German software company SAP SE and the British lender HSBC Holdings Plc., as the individual stocks on the European composite index with the biggest increase in 2023.
Bank shares outperformed the benchmark index
The retail, technology and construction sectors performed better than expected in 2023. Bank shares outperformed the benchmark index with a 20 percent gain, after being hit hard by the Credit Suisse crisis and the subsequent sale of the major Swiss bank. The only sectors with a decline were food, drink, tobacco and basic resources, writes Bloomberg.
Despite European stocks rising in 2023, they end the year some way behind their American competitors. After a better-than-expected economic development in the US and advances in artificial intelligence, the S&P 500 is heading for an increase of 24 per cent this year, while the Dow Jones is heading for an increase of 13.54 per cent and the Nasdaq a whopping 44 per cent.
2023-12-29 18:16:35
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