European Shares Set To Drift Lower In Thin Holiday Trade

European stocks are likely to open on a sluggish note Tuesday, the last trading day of 2024.

Most regional markets are set to close early today for New Year eve and will remain shut on Wednesday.

Asian markets traded lower in cautious year-end trading and U.S. stock futures dipped as investors fretted about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s protectionist policies and scaled back expectations of deep U.S. rate cuts in 2025.

China’s factory activity expanded at a slower pace in December, official data showed earlier today – adding to concerns about the outlook for the world’s second-largest economy.

Focus also shifted to tense U.S.-China relations after the U.S. Treasury Department said it was recently hacked by a Chinese state-sponsored actor, leading to unauthorized access to government employees’ workstations and unclassified documents.

The dollar was firm and poised to clock strong gains in 2024 amid expectations that Trump’s protectionist and fiscally loose economic policies could fuel inflation.

Gold was little changed above $2,600 per ounce and was on track for its best annual performance in more than a decade.

Oil prices were up nearly 1 percent to extend gains from the previous session amid thin year-end trading.

U.S. stocks ended lower for a third day running overnight due to end-of-year tax positioning and concerns over valuations.

In economic news, factory sector activity in the Chicago area slowed a bit more quickly at the end tail-end of 2024, while pending home sales increased for a fourth month to reach a 21-month high in November, separate reports showed.

The Dow lost 1 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.2 percent and the S&P 500 gave up 1.1 percent.

European stocks closed lower on Monday as Spanish inflation surpassed forecasts in December and ECB Governing Council member Robert Holzmann said the ECB may delay its next interest rate cut.

The pan European STOXX 600 dipped half a percent. The German DAX and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 both fell by 0.4 percent while France’s CAC 40 shed 0.6 percent.