European markets dipped slightly lower on Thursday after an initially positive start to 2025 trading.
Pan-European Stoxx 600 The index reversed earlier gains and traded 0.3% lower by 11:18 a.m. London time as regional bourses reopened after the New Year holiday.
Bank stocks led the losses, falling over 2%, while autos also fell 1.8%. Oil and gas stocks meanwhile rose, adding 1%, while utilities also rose 0.84%.
Shares of Spain BBVA and Banco Santander were among the biggest losers in the banking stock selloff, falling more than 4%. of Italy Unicredit traded around 3% lower.
Major regional bourses also slipped into the red by mid-morning, along with France CAC 40 loses 1.2 percent. President Emmanuel Macron they appeared to concede on Tuesday that his decision to hold extraordinary parliamentary elections last year caused problems in the country.
“We are also faced with political instability, this is not specific to France, we also see it among our German friends who have just dissolved their Parliament. But it justifies us,” said Macron in his New Year’s address. “Tonight I have to admit that it is a breakup [of parliament] he has, so far, brought more divisions to the Assembly than solutions for the French,” he added.
Elsewhere, Germany DAX down 0.3% on Thursday and the UK FTSE 100 was hovering around a straight line.
It comes as manufacturing activity eased in December across Germany and France, a sign of ongoing trouble for the eurozone’s two biggest economies. The HCOB manufacturing purchasing managers’ index reached 42.5 in Germany last month, down from 43.0 in November. Meanwhile, in France, output fell to 41.9, the biggest drop since May 2020.
Manufacturing activity also slowed in Italy in December, data showed, while Spain recorded a further month of expansion as the southern European economy continued to gain strength.
On the currency markets, both the pound and the euro fell in relation to the strengthening of the dollar. The British pound hit its lowest level against the US currency since April 2024 and was last down 0.61% at $1.2441 by 11:43am London time. The euro fell 0.31% to $1.0323, its lowest level since November 2022.
Sterling
UK house prices rose 0.7% month-on-month in December as activity remained unusually strong in the final month of the year, data from British lender Nationwide showed on Thursday. House prices rose 4.7% over the year, bringing them close to the all-time high recorded in the summer of 2022.
Asian stocks trading was mixed overnight, with Chinese stocks leading losses as several major markets resumed trading after the New Year holiday.
US stock futures they were slightly higher as trading began for 2025. Traders hope the market can regain the momentum that has fueled it to record two consecutive years of annual gains above 20%.
— CNBC’s Christina Cheddar Berk and Sophie Kiderlin contributed to this market report
