European shares end slightly higher ahead of Christmas holiday
By Khushi Singh, Ankika Biswas and Sruthi Shankar
(Reuters) -European stocks closed with a whimper on Friday, as softer-than-expected U.S. inflation data offset losses in sportwear makers and China-exposed stocks ahead of the Christmas holiday weekend.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index edged up 0.1% and notched its sixth week of gains in a row — a winning streak that was last seen in December 2022.
However, trading volumes were thinner than usual as traders prepared to break for the holiday season. European markets will be shut on Monday for Christmas.
Investors drew comfort from data that showed U.S. prices fell in November for the first in more than 3-1/2 years, pushing the annual increase in inflation further below 3%, and boosting financial market expectations of an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve next March.
Traders are also betting on rate cuts by the European Central Bank early next year despite attempts by policymakers to manage those expectations.
«We started 2023 on a pretty pessimistic footing, with still-stubborn inflation, a hawkish ECB and coming out of a winter with concerns regarding European energy supplies and whether the EU was heading for a deep recession,» said Stuart Cole, chief macro economist at Equiti Capital.
«But as we have gone through 2023, things have not turned out to be quite as bad as feared. The battle with CPI has been mostly won, and if the ECB can start cutting next year, hopefully the downturn will not be too deep.»
Meanwhile, the ripple effect of Chinese regulators launching rules aimed at curbing spending on video games was seen across global markets.
Dutch tech investor Prosus (OTC:PROSF), which has stake in Chinese gaming company Tencent, tumbled 13.4% to post its
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