US, European stock markets look to ring out year with gains

LONDON: Wall Street stocks moved higher on Tuesday, looking to ring out the year with gains as did Europe’s main stock markets, as all eyes turn to 2025 and the impact that the policies of US President-elect Donald Trump will have on the global economy.

After dropping more than one percent on Monday as investors booked profits and broke hopes of a so-called Santa Claus rally, the Dow added 0.3 percent as trading got underway.

“Sliding Treasury yields are helping in the repair work along with some rebound action in the mega-cap stocks and perhaps some New Year’s Eve spirit that is keeping the trading mood light,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.

At the closing bell, Wall Street stocks are set to end 2024 with double-digit gains as falling global inflation triggered interest-rate cuts from major central banks.

That pushed global stock markets to record-high levels this year, as did a tech boom on rapid growth for the artificial intelligence sector.

In Europe, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index closed up 0.6 percent and the Paris CAC 40 rallied 0.9 percent in a shortened trading day.

Over 2024, London gained nearly six percent.

Paris fell 2.2% over the year, with the index hit late in the year by political turmoil in France, while China’s economic slowdown impacted the luxury sector.

Frankfurt, whose last trading day was Monday, surged nearly 19% over the year despite Europe’s biggest economy Germany enduring a tough time.

Traders closed out the year “amid uncertainty over monetary policy and the economic outlook under a Trump presidency”, Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, noted Tuesday.

Asian stock markets ended the year mainly in the red following a poor lead from Wall Street.

Concerns about the slow pace of US interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and uncertainty about Trump’s tariff plans have soured the mood during recent sessions.

“In Asia, notably China, tariffs may appear to be a manageable obstacle if they were the only concern,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.

“However, China’s economic difficulties go well beyond simple trade conflicts. The nation is also contending with serious domestic consumption challenges and self-induced setbacks in its technology sector,” Innes added.

China’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for manufacturing was 50.1 in December, signalling a third consecutive month of expansion, official data showed on Tuesday.

President Xi Jinping said China would put in place “more proactive” macroeconomic policies next year, according to state media, with economists warning that more direct fiscal stimulus aimed at shoring up domestic consumption was needed.

The yuan on Tuesday reached the lowest level versus the dollar since Oct 2023.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index, which closed out the year Monday, gained almost 20% in 2024, finally surpassing the high seen before Japan’s asset bubble burst in the 1990s.