European stocks closed lower on Monday in what would be the last full trading session of the year.
Pan-European stokes 600 The index ended the session down 0.48% with most sectors in negative territory.
Technology, industrials and media stocks led the losses, while oil and gas stocks advanced.
Markets are on edge ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, with exchanges in the region expected to close early or close completely from Tuesday until January 2.
European stocks are expected to end the year with moderate gains. The Stoxx 600 is up about 5.5% so far this year, but that’s far from the US. S&P 500 The index is up about 25% during 2024.
U.S. markets retreated on Monday as light trading was expected.
Overnight, Asian stocks were mixed as investors watched political turmoil in South Korea and overseas industrial data. Japan also released economic indicators earlier this week showing that the decline in factory activity has slowed.
Shares of South Korean airlines fell on Monday after the Jeju Air plane crash that killed 179 people a day earlier, and Jeju Air shares hit an all-time low.
Meanwhile, New York-listed stocks boeing Shares of the 737-800 series aircraft involved in the accident fell about 2.2% on Monday. Authorities plan to launch an investigation into the crash to determine the exact cause, and officials plan to inspect all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by domestic airlines as part of the investigation.
Stocks of French competitors airbus While it fell 0.6% Dassault Aviation — the French military and business jet manufacturer — rose 1.6%.
At the bottom of the Stoxx 600 index on Monday morning were British online grocery retailers. Ocado. The company’s London-listed shares fell 3.1% after reports last week that many of its Christmas deliveries were missing essential items.
Ocado said in an emailed statement that some seasonal orders had not been delivered as expected and it had apologized to those affected.
Elsewhere in Europe, Spain’s EU-based annual inflation rate rose to 2.8% in December from 2.4% in November, according to flash estimates published on Monday by Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE).
The figure was higher than the 2.6% expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.
Spain’s core inflation, excluding fresh food and energy prices, rose 2.6% annually, INE estimates showed.
The update follows European Central Bank board member Robert Holzmann, who said in an interview with Austrian newspaper Kurier over the weekend that inflation could cause the institution to delay its interest rate cut campaign.
“I don’t see an interest rate increase at the moment,” he said. “But what could happen is that it will take longer until the next rate cut.”
His comments come as Italian lawmakers passed the government’s 2025 budget, which aims to bring the country’s fiscal deficit closer to 3% to comply with EU rules.
France’s new finance minister, Eric Lombard, told news outlet La Tribune Dimanche in an interview published Saturday that the 2025 budget will target a deficit of just over 5%.
— CNBC’s Lee Ying Shan and Reuters contributed to this European market summary.
