On Thursday, European stock indexes displayed a diverse performance as traders returned following the New Year holidays.
In economic developments, U.K. house prices experienced a 4.7% year-on-year increase in December, surpassing the 3.7% rise recorded in November and exceeding economists' predictions of a 3.8% growth. This data was released earlier today by the Nationwide Building Society. However, on a monthly basis, house price inflation moderated to 0.7% from 1.2% reported in November.
Investors are keenly anticipating the release of final factory Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) results from both the eurozone and the U.K. later in the day. These results are expected to provide significant insights into the manufacturing sector's performance during the last month of 2024.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index decreased by 0.1% to 507.08, retreating from a nearly two-week high. This decline follows the steepest quarterly drop observed over the past two years, occurring between October and December.
Germany's DAX and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 showed minimal changes, while France’s CAC 40 fell by 0.5%.
A surge in commodity prices buoyed mining and energy stocks. Among the gainers in London were Antofagasta, Glencore, and BP Plc, each rising approximately 1%.
Vestas Wind Systems saw its shares climb by 3.2%, following the announcement of several supply contracts in Europe during the latter half of December, which together amount to more than 1.2 GW of combined capacity.
Intrum AB, recognized as Europe's largest debt collection firm, experienced a dramatic 13% jump in its stock price after a U.S. court endorsed its restructuring strategy.
Vodafone registered a modest increase after successfully completing the sale of its Italian operations to Swisscom for €8 billion in cash.
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