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Europe's STOXX 600 flat in unstable trading; realty weighs

Europe's main stock index closed flat after an unstable session on Wednesday as investors remained on edge over geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia which continued to cast a shadow over the markets.

The pan-European STOXX 600 held its ground at 500.53 points. It declined for a fourth straight session - logging its longest losing streak in over 2 months.

It touched a three-month short on Tuesday in the middle of an investor rush to safe-haven assets.

Ukraine fired a volley of British Storm Shadow cruise rockets into Russia on Wednesday, a day after it fired U.S. ATACMS rockets upon approval to do so from the outbound administration of U.S. President Joe Biden.

Russia lowered its threshold for a nuclear strike, and Reuters reported Russian President Vladimir Putin's openness to talk about a Ukraine ceasefire deal with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, supplied it eliminates significant territorial concessions which Kyiv deserts plans to join NATO.

Main bourses in Germany, France, and Spain , likewise quit early gains and ended the session in the red.

The Euro STOXX volatility index closed at 20.06.

Vehicle stocks led sectoral declines, falling 1.2%.

Rate sensitive real estate stocks were the greatest drag on the index, down 0.7%.

Euro zone worked out wage growth sped up in the third quarter, contributing to the case for care in cutting interest rates rapidly as the labour market remains tight in spite of some indications of cooling.

Europe's been driven by the geopolitical uncertainty - worries of the dispute between Ukraine and Russia take a more hazardous turn after Ukraine struck twice inside the Russian area, stated Elias Haddad, senior markets strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman.

You have actually likewise got slow euro zone growth outlook that's. also a big element from a more cyclical point of view that is. weighing on Europe.

Focus is likewise on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's. administration consultations, including the look for a Treasury. secretary. Wall Street CEO Howard Lutnick will lead Trump's. trade and tariff strategy.

ArgenX gained 4% after the biotech company. revealed progress in the advancement of its flagship drug. Vyvgart. It raised the healthcare sector also.

Keeping the innovation index's in the green was Sage. Group's 17.8% jump, after announcing. better-than-expected annual operating earnings and the software application. firm's launch of a 400-million-pound share buyback.

The tech sector's performance outlook likewise depends upon. quarterly results from the world's most important company Nvidia. , viewed as a barometer for the sector's shift to AI, due. after market close.

The ECB has actually cautioned about a bubble in AI-related stocks,. which could break suddenly if financiers' rosy expectations are. not fulfilled.

La Française des Jeux fell 4.4% after Credit. Agricole Assurances revealed strategies to sell 2.2% of the French. video gaming group's share capital.

Admiral Group lost 4% after Jefferies cut its price. target to 2,550 cent from 3,025 cent.

Somewhere else, UK stocks lost 0.2% after domestic. inflation came in above the reserve bank's 2% target last month,. underscoring the BOE's caution on rate cuts.

(source: Reuters)