European markets fell slightly lower on Thursday, after a good start to 2025 trading.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index pared earlier gains to trade 0.3% lower by 11:18 a.m. London time as department stores reopened after the New Year holiday.
Banking stocks led losses, shedding more than 2%, while autos also fell 1.8%. Meanwhile, oil and gas stocks were higher, adding 1%, as utilities rose 0.84%.
Sections of the Spanish BBVA and Santander Bank among the biggest losers was the sale of banking stocks, falling more than 4%. Italy Unicredit trading around 3% lower.
Major regional markets slipped into the red by mid-morning, with France CAC 40 losing 1.2%. President Emmanuel Macron he revealed his confession on Tuesday that his decision to hold snap parliamentary elections last year caused problems for the country.
“We also have political instability, it is not unique to France, we also see it among our German friends who have just dissolved their Senate. But it legitimately worries us,” Macron said in his New Year's speech. “I have to admit tonight that the dissolution (of parliament) has brought more divisions to the Senate at the moment than solutions to the French,” he said.
Elsewhere, Germany DAX down 0.3% on Thursday and the UK FTSE 100 he was going around the plain.
It comes as manufacturing activity pulled back in December across Germany and France in a sign of continued doldrums for the euro zone's two biggest economies. The HCOB manufacturing purchasing managers' index came in at 42.5 last month in Germany, down from 43.0 in November. Meanwhile in France, production volumes fell to 41.9, the fastest fall since May 2020.
Manufacturing activity also fell in Italy in December, the data showed, while Spain recorded another month of expansion, as the southern European economy continues to gain steam.
In currency markets, both sterling and the euro faced a strengthening dollar. The British pound hit its lowest level against the greenback since April 2024, and was last down 0.61% at $1.2441 by 11:43am London time. The euro was down 0.31% to $1.0323, the lowest level since November 2022.
Sterling
UK house prices rose 0.7% month-on-month in December, as activity remained very strong in the final month of the year, data from British lender Nationwide showed on Thursday. Home prices increased by 4.7% over the year, bringing them within striking distance of the highest levels recorded in the summer of 2022.
Asian sources trading was mixed overnight, with stocks in China paring losses as several major markets resumed trading after the New Year holiday.
US stock returns slightly higher as trading began for 2025. Traders hope the market can get back on the momentum that has seen it record two straight years of annual gains above 20%.
— CNBC's Christina Cheddar Berk and Sophie Kiderlin contributed to this market report
