FRANKFURT: Europe’s STOXX 600 index clocked its first weekly advance in three on Friday, boosted by advancing healthcare and financial shares, capping off a holiday-shortened week.
The pan-European benchmark closed 0.7% up, hitting its highest level in a week and gaining about 1% in a week where trading volumes were below average and several markets were shut throughout the period.
Most bourses across the region also closed up, with Germany’s DAX rising 0.7%, France’s CAC 40 adding 1%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 ended 0.2% higher.
“We’re coming out of a Christmas holiday, and trading volumes are extremely weak. We cannot really draw conclusions about what we see these days,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
On the day, autos was the biggest percentage advancer, up 1.4%. Aiding gains on the broader benchmark was healthcare, which rose almost 1% on the back of a 2.1% rise in heavyweight Novo Nordisk.
Euro zone banks also added 1.3% with French banks like Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas amongst top advancers.
Despite the STOXX 600 scaling all-time highs earlier this year, its overall gain for 2024 stands at a modest 5.2%. A mix of geopolitical tensions, a sluggish Chinese recovery, and a lacklustre domestic economic outlook have contributed to the slow momentum.
In contrast, the S&P 500 in the United States has jumped about 25% for the year, while blue-chip stocks in Mainland China are up 16%. “Europe is suffering because of soft economic outlook and soft economic growth, and partly due to soft economic growth in China,” Ozkardeskaya added.
“The continent is kind of in the crisis mode right now, compared to their US peers, which are rather in a rally and euphoria mode.” Food and beverages, which houses Europe’s biggest spirits makers, is on track to become the worst performing sub-sector for the year, closely followed by automakers.
Banks and insurance are the top performing ones so far.
With just a few more days to the New Year, investors are looking for any developments related to US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
His anticipated policies, which are generally viewed as inflationary, and proposed tariffs could weigh on European economic activity.
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