Europe close: Stocks end mostly lower, but well off lows
By Alexander Bueso
Date: Friday 20 Dec 2024
(Sharecast News) - European shares extended losses on Friday, with the benchmark Stoxx 600 slipping below the 500 mark after US President-elect Donald Trump threatened the European Union with tariffs.
Yet stocks ended the day well off their worst levels following the release of a slightly better than expected reading for
The index was down 0.88% at 502.19 points, with all major bourses lower, save for Madrid's, where the Ibex 35 added 0.24% to 11,467.30.
Germany's Dax shed 0.43% to finish the session at 19,884.75, whilst the Cac-40 was down by 0.27% at 7,274.48.
In a social media post, the bellicose Trump said the EU must buy US oil and gas to make up for its "tremendous deficit" with America or be slapped with tariffs on exports to the world's biggest economy.
Helping to limit the selling, America's Commerce Department reported that the US core PCE price index - the central bank's preferred inflation gauge - remained steady in November at 2.8%.
Economists had forecast an increase to 2.9%.
In economic news, China left its benchmark lending rates unchanged at Friday's monthly fixing, in line with expectations. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was held at 3.10% and the five-year at 3.60%.
In Germany, the annual change in wholesale prices unexpectedly turned positive in November, for the first time in 17 months, according to data from the federal statistics office on Friday.
Producer prices were 0.1% higher than November 2023, following a 1.1% year-on-year drop in October (consensus: 0.3%).
UK retail sales missed expectations in November, but borrowing figures came in better than expected, according to data released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics.
Retail sales ticked up 0.2%. This was an improvement on the 0.7% decline seen in October but was below analysts' expectations of a 0.5% jump.
Meanwhile, UK government borrowing fell to £11.2bn in November, the lowest figure for the month in three years, according to official data released by the Office for National Statistics.
In equity news, Novo Nordisk tanked as its experimental next-generation obesity drug CagriSema cut patients weight by less than expected.
Shares in Zealand Pharma slumped as the US Food and Drug Administration has declined to approve the Danish's drug company's bowel disease treatment and asked for an additional trial to confirm its safety and efficacy.
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