European markets opened in negative territory on Monday, in what will be the region’s final full trading session of the year.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was around 0.4% lower shortly after the opening bell, with all sectors and major bourses in negative territory. Industrials, media and technology stocks led the losses.
Trading is expected to be muted in Europe on Monday, as markets prepare to wind down for the New Year holiday.
In a flash estimate published Monday, Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) said its annual EU-harmonized inflation rate had risen to 2.8% in December, up from the 2.4% figure recorded in November.
The figure was higher than the 2.6% forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.
Spain’s core inflation — which excludes fresh food and energy prices — was up 2.6% on an annual basis, the INE estimate showed.
The update followed European Central Bank Governing Council member Robert Holzmann telling Austrian newspaper Kurier over the weekend that the institution may slow down its rate cutting campaign thanks to sticky inflation.
“I don’t see any interest rate hikes at the moment,” he said. “What could happen, though, is that one takes more time until the next interest rate cut.”
His comments came as Italian lawmakers passed their government’s 2025 budget, which aims to bring the country’s fiscal deficit closer to 3% in order to comply with EU rules.
In an interview published Saturday, France’s newly appointed Finance Minister Eric Lombard told news outlet La Tribune Dimanche the country’s impending budget bill for 2025 would aim for a deficit of just above 5%, according to a translation by news agency Reuters.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as investors monitored political turmoil in South Korea, as well as industrial data out of the country. Japan also published economic data at the start of the week that showed the contraction in its factory activity slowed down this month.
Shares of Korean airlines were down on Monday following the Jeju Air plane crash that killed 179 people a day earlier, with Jeju Air’s share price hitting an all-time low.
— CNBC’s Lee Ying Shan and Reuters contributed to this European markets summary.
