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European Stocks Rise in Holiday-Thinned Trade; Storskogen Group Up 4%

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  • Global investors are looking for a Santa Claus rally to close out a year of solid returns.
  • The FTSE and the DAX are on track to see gains of 15% for this year, while the French CAC is close to a 30% gain.

LONDON – European indexes ended the day higher on Thursday as holiday-thinned trading continued in the region.

The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 finished up 0.2%, with most major exchanges logging gains. Travel and leisure was the standout gainer with a rise of 1.8%.

Global investors are looking for a Santa Claus rally to close out a year of solid returns. The FTSE and the DAX are on track to see gains of 15% for this year, while the French CAC is close to a 30% gain.

Historically, many benchmarks gain during the Santa Claus rally — the final five trading days of the current year and the first two of the new year. The period began Monday.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks were higher after the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at records the day before.

Market players have spent recent weeks juggling concerns over new Covid restrictions and tighter central bank policy, with early studies suggesting the omicron strain of the virus is milder than previous variants like delta. New studies in South Africa and the U.K. last week suggested omicron has a reduced risk of hospitalization and severe illness.

In individual stocks news, shares of Storskogen Group climbed 4% after it announced it has acquired 90.1% of the shares in the Nimbus Group.

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