European markets moved into negative territory on Monday, in what will be the last full trading session of the year in the region.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.2% as of 10:15 a.m. London time, with most sectors and all major exchanges in negative territory.
Health care, media and technology stocks led losses, while utilities, auto and banking stocks posted gains.
Trading is expected to be quiet in Europe on Monday, as markets prepare to calm down for the New Year holiday.
Night in Asia, actions were mixed as investors monitored political unrest in South Korea, as well as industrial data outside the country. Japan also released economic data earlier this week showing that the contraction in its industrial activity has slowed this month.
Korean airline stocks were down on Monday following the Jeju Air plane crash which killed 179 people the day before, with Jeju Air’s stock price hitting an all-time low.
Meanwhile, New York-listed shares of Boeing — whose 737-800 series plane was involved in the crash — was down about 4.7% Monday in pre-market trading. South Korean authorities are preparing to conduct an investigation in the accident in order to determine its exact cause, with those responsible would have planning to inspect all Boeing 737-800 aircraft as part of their investigations.
Actions of the French competitor Airbus were hovering just above the flat line at 10:27 a.m. London time. European airline stocks were mixed, with Lufthansa shares rose 1.8%, making it one of the best performers on the Stoxx 600 index in early trading. Owner of British Airways IAGmeanwhile, has changed little, while low-cost airlines EasyJet was 0.5% lower.
At the bottom of the Stoxx 600 on Monday morning was the British online grocery retailer. Ocado. The company’s London-listed shares fell more than 3% after reports last week, many of its Christmas deliveries were missing essential items.
Elsewhere in Europe, a flash estimate According to a report released Monday by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), the country’s EU-harmonized annual inflation rate reached 2.8% in December, up from 2.4% recorded in November.
This figure is higher than the 2.6% forecast by analysts polled by Reuters.
Spain’s core inflation – which excludes the prices of fresh food and energy – increased by 2.6% on an annual basis, according to the INE estimate.
The update follows Robert Holzmann, member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. told Austrian newspaper Kurier this weekend, the institution could slow down its rate reduction campaign due to persistent inflation.
“I don’t see interest rates rising at the moment,” he said. “But what could happen is that it could take longer before the next interest rate cut.”
His comments came as Italian lawmakers adopted their government’s 2025 budgetwhich aims to bring the country’s budget deficit closer to 3% in order to comply with EU rules.
In an interview published on Saturday, France’s new Finance Minister, Eric Lombard, told media La Tribune Sunday the country’s next budget bill for 2025 would target a deficit slightly above 5%, according to a translation by the Reuters news agency.
— CNBC’s Lee Ying Shan and Reuters contributed to this summary of European markets.
