CAC-40 ends little changed at 3103.11 with few investors active after the market’s Monday closure and with the London market shut Tuesday. The traded volume was lower than the daily average. Shares of EDF fall 0.2% after the company announces it will increase its stake in Italian utility Edison. Shares of Accor end +3.9%, while banks BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale close 1.1%, 2.1% and 1.3% lower respectively, after the ECB said its overnight deposit facility reached a new all-time high.
SMI ends 0.1% lower at 5886.91 in low-volume trade, with investors remaining cautious about the economic outlook in Europe for 2012 amid persistent fears about the future of the euro. Among the biggest decliners are banks with Julius Baer down 1.6% and Credit Suisse off 0.5%. Swatch, +0.4%, and Richemont, +0.7%, benefit from strong U.S. consumer confidence data. Elsewhere, Petroplus drops 46% after banks freeze a $1B credit line, triggering investor fears about a liquidity crunch at the company.
IBEX-35 ends 0.2% lower in thin, post-holiday trade amid an absence of foreign investors. Telefonica ends 0.2% lower and Santander drops 0.3%, leading Tuesday’s most actively traded stocks. Repsol adds 0.4% after oil rose above $100 a barrel. Liquidity is seen thin during the rest of the week.
Nordic stocks close mixed, with most of the region’s markets tracking earlier losses in Asia, following the Bank of Japan’s warning of downside risks to the economy and sliding South Korean consumer confidence. However, oil rose above $100 a barrel, lifting both U.S. stocks and the energy-heavy Oslo stock exchange. OMXN40 down 0.2% at 884.23; OBX up 0.2% at 356.60. In individual stocks, Statoil ends 0.3% higher after detailing how it plans to develop a major oil discovery.
FTSE Mib ends 1% lower at 14,924, the worst performer of the region’s main indices in light Christmas holiday trade. The index is weighed down by banks, which are trading lower because of investor nervousness ahead of Italy’s next bond auction Wednesday. UniCredit and Mediobanca both end 4.8% lower. Wednesday, Italy auctions bonds and PM Monti holds a cabinet meeting to discuss the next stage of reforms to boost the economy.
EasyForexNews Research Team