© Reuters. An electronic screen displays data for the German DAX index on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Friday. Photography: Reuters.
(Reuters) – European stocks closed weak on Friday, as weaker-than-expected US inflation data offset losses by sportswear makers and stocks exposed to China before the Christmas holiday.
The European index rose 0.1 percent, achieving gains for the sixth week in a row in a series of gains that have not occurred since December 2022.
However, trading volumes were lower than usual as traders prepare to take a break with the start of the holiday season. The European market will be closed next Monday for Christmas.
Investors were relieved by data showing US prices fell in November for the first time in more than three and a half years, pushing the annual increase in inflation to less than three percent in addition to supporting financial market expectations regarding the decision of the Federal Reserve (the US central bank). By reducing interest rates next March.
Traders are also betting that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates early next year, despite policymakers’ attempts to manage those expectations.
“We started 2023 on a very pessimistic basis, with inflation continuing… and a hawkish European Central Bank… and emerging from the winter with concerns about European energy supplies and whether the European Union is heading toward… Deep recession.
“But during 2023, things were not quite as bad as we feared. We have largely won the battle with the CPI, and if the ECB can start cutting interest rates next year, we hope that deflation will not be as strong.”
At the same time, the ripple effect of Chinese regulators launching rules aimed at limiting spending on video games was seen in global markets.
The shares of the Dutch technology company Prosus, which owns a stake in the Chinese gaming company Tencent, fell 13.4 percent, recording the largest percentage decline in one day in more than a year.
Shares of French video game developer Ubisoft fell 1.5 percent.
Sportswear companies were a drag on European stocks after US giant Nike cut its annual sales forecast, blaming it largely on cautious spending by consumers.
German Adidas (ETR:) shares fell 5.3 percent, German Puma shares fell 7.2 percent, while JD Sports shares, listed in the United Kingdom, fell 5.1 percent.
The STOXX 600 index is scheduled to end 2023 up 12.4 percent, with expectations for a lower interest rate increasing following evidence of slowing inflation and economic growth.
Data from the region showed Spain’s GDP growth slowed slightly in the third quarter, while another set of data showed residential property prices in Germany falling in the third quarter by 10.2 percent in another gloomy sign for the real estate sector.
Shares of the pharmaceutical company Argenex rose 12.8 percent after falling 38 percent in two days after an autoimmune drug failed in a study to test it on patients suffering from two skin conditions.
(Prepared by Mahitab Sabry for the Arabic Bulletin – Edited by Ayman Saad Muslim)
2023-12-22 19:13:00
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