FX.co ★ European Stocks Kick Off December in the Red

At the outset of December trading, the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 indices experienced declines of 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively. This cautious start follows a volatile November that concluded with only slight improvements for both indices. Among sectors, industrials suffered the most significant setbacks. Notably, Airbus saw a decline exceeding 2% after it announced an extensive recall involving immediate repairs on 6,000 aircraft from its A320 series, impacting over half of the global fleet. Defense stocks also faced downward pressure, with Rheinmetall falling by 2.5% and Leonardo dropping 1.5%, amid investor focus on developments regarding a prospective peace deal for Ukraine. This comes ahead of US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's scheduled discussions in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin and other Kremlin representatives. Conversely, ASML Holding and Repsol saw notable advances, gaining 2.6% and 1.3%, respectively.