FX.co ★ European Stocks Close Mostly Higher Again

European stocks concluded Monday's trading session on a positive note, with many of the region's markets advancing for the eighth consecutive day. The upbeat sentiment in the markets was primarily fueled by robust activity in the mining sector, spurred by speculations of further economic incentives from the Chinese government. However, heightened geopolitical tensions kept the upward momentum in check.

Market participants awaited the European Central Bank's (ECB) upcoming monetary policy meeting, alongside consumer and producer price index data releases from the United States, scheduled for later this week.

Notably, China's consumer inflation saw an unexpected slowdown in November, coupled with a moderation in factory deflation. These developments have raised expectations of more assertive fiscal and monetary strategies next year aimed at invigorating domestic consumption.

The Politburo, a senior decision-making assembly led by President Xi Jinping, declared its intention to stabilize both property and stock markets while enhancing "unconventional counter-cyclical" adjustments.

Investors also kept a close watch on the escalation of tensions in Syria, while anticipating guidance from the ECB's policy meeting and forthcoming U.S. inflation statistics this week.

The ECB is anticipated to implement another interest rate reduction this week amid concerns regarding the fiscal policy trajectories in Germany and France.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 inched up by 0.14%. The UK's FTSE 100 rose by 0.52%, while France's CAC 40 ended the day 0.72% higher. Conversely, Germany's DAX declined by 0.19%, and Switzerland's SMI fell by 0.16%.

Elsewhere in Europe, markets in Austria, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, and Türkiye concluded on a high note. In contrast, Belgium, Denmark, and Spain experienced downturns.

In the UK market, Vistry Group surged by over 6%. Stocks such as Antofagasta, Fresnillo, Glencore, BP, Rio Tinto, GSK, Prudential, WPP, Endeavour Mining, Anglo American Plc, Hiscox, Shell, Spirax Group, Berkeley Group Holdings, and Kingfisher witnessed gains ranging from 2% to 5%.

Conversely, Whitbread, BAE Systems, IHG, Auto Trader Group, Next, Ashtead Group, Relx, Vodafone Group, Compass Group, Coca-Cola HBC, DS Smith, Segro, BT Group, and Land Securities saw declines of 1% to 2.7%.

In Germany, Mercedes-Benz, BASF, Porsche, BMW, and Infineon saw gains of 2% to 3.4%. Siemens Healthineers, Volkswagen, Brenntag, Continental, Beiersdorf, Merck, Bayer, Zalando, and Qiagen advanced between 1% and 3%. Sartorius climbed over 1% following its announcement of a new CEO appointment.

Rheinmetall decreased by more than 6%. Vonovia fell by 3.4%, with Deutsche Telekom ending nearly 2% down. Other notable decliners included MTU Aero Engines, Munich RE, Adidas, and Deutsche Boerse.

German meal-kit provider HelloFresh plunged nearly 10% amid reports of a U.S. investigation into alleged child labor practices. Meanwhile, CompuGroup Medical soared 32% after disclosing advanced acquisition talks with CVC Capital Partners.

In France, shares in Kering, LVMH, and Societe Generale increased by 3% to 3.6%. BNP Paribas and Pernod Ricard rose by approximately 2.7% and 2.5%, respectively.

Additionally, ArcelorMittal, Stellantis, L'Oreal, Capgemini, Carrefour, Eurofins Scientific, Teleperformance, TotalEnergies, Vivendi, Edenred, Michelin, Credit Agricole, STMicroelectronics, Airbus Group, and Dassault Systemes all ended higher by 1% to 2%.

On the downside, Thales, Unibail Rodamco, Schneider Electric, Danone, Safron, and Essilor posted moderate to sharp losses.

Economically, investor confidence within the Eurozone weakened in December, as Germany's faltering economy and France's political crisis weighed on the broader EU economic outlook, according to the Sentix survey results. The Sentix investor confidence index for the Eurozone declined to -17.5 from -12.8 in November, indicating the lowest reading since November 2023.

In the UK, labor market conditions continued to deteriorate in November, as many companies halted recruitment following the late October budget announcement, according to a report by S&P Global.

The KPMG/REC Report on Jobs highlighted that permanent job placements recorded their most significant decline since August 2023, attributed to fewer vacancies. Respondents attributed this to uncertainty and a reassessment of staffing needs resulting from the Autumn Budget. Temporary staff billings contracted for the fifth consecutive time due to similar concerns.