Entrance to the London Stock Exchange Group building on December 8, 2024.
Manuel Romano | norphoto | Getty Images
European markets closed higher on Tuesday, in a short trading day on Christmas Eve.
The European Stoxx 600 index ended the session temporarily higher by about 0.2%. Technology stocks were among the stocks that led the gains, after a strong trading session on Monday for US-listed technology stocks.
London’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 ended the session in positive territory, with sectors across the board seeing gains ahead of the Christmas close.
Novo Nordisk shares rise
Novo Nordisk stock resumed its rally on Tuesday, rising to the top of the Stoxx 600 index and adding 5.7% by the closing bell. Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical giant have recovered from last week’s sell-off, which followed disappointing results from a trial of weight-loss drug CagriSema.
Elsewhere in European medicine, AstraZeneca The drugmaker said Tuesday it has voluntarily withdrawn its marketing application in the European Union for the lung cancer treatment datoputumab deruxtecan. The decision, made alongside co-developer Daiichi Sankyo, was “based on comments from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use,” the company said.
Back in September, disappointing results from the clinical trial on which the app was based sent AstraZeneca’s stock price plummeting. The company’s shares rose 0.1% at the end of the Christmas Eve session.
In other business news, Anglo American It is facing legal troubles in Chile after the country’s environmental watchdog (SMA) filed four environmental charges against the company on Monday. The company could face a fine of up to $17 billion over alleged non-compliance with environmental permits at its Los Bronces copper mine, according to a Google translation of the SMA statement.
In an emailed statement, an Anglo American spokesperson said the mine was operating normally and the company was working with the Chilean regulatory body to ensure compliance.
Shares of the mining giant, listed in London, closed 2% higher. Mining stocks led gains on the STOXX 600 on Tuesday, after Reuters news agency reported that China plans to issue a record 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) worth of Treasury bonds in 2025.
At the bottom of the Stoxx 600 index was a British housebuilder Vestry GroupIts shares fell by 16% during Tuesday’s session.
The company revised its full-year guidance on Tuesday, trimming £50 million from its profit forecast. Vistry said it now expects its full-year adjusted profit before tax to be around £250 million, and attributed the downward revision to delays in transactions and completions expected at the end of the year.
Shares of Swedish online gambling company Evolution continued the sell-off on Tuesday, after falling to the bottom of the European index on Monday. Last week, the company said it had been subject to review by the UK Gambling Commission, after the regulator discovered that the company’s games could be accessed in Britain by unlicensed operators.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were in mixed territory as investors monitored Japan’s monetary policy outlook, the mega merger between auto giants Honda and Nissan and faltering consumer confidence in South Korea.
Trading is expected to be quiet across the world this week with many markets closing early on Tuesday and will remain closed on Wednesday for Christmas.
