European stock markets experienced a downturn in Friday trading, as The Stoxx Europe saw a drop of 0.78%. Germany's DAX index fell by 0.27%, while London's FTSE decreased by 0.26%. Similarly, France's CAC composite fell by 0.27%, and the Swiss Market Index lost 0.26%. In the UK, retail sales volume increased by an estimated 0.2% in November, following a 0.7% decline the previous month, per the Office for National Statistics.
In France, producer prices surged in November with a 2.7% increase, building on a 0.8% rise in October after a 0.3% drop in September. Year-over-year, French industrial producer prices experienced a decline for the 17th consecutive month. Meanwhile, Italy saw a dip in its consumer confidence index, which fell to 96.3 in December from 96.6 in the previous month, as reported by the Italian National Institute of Statistics.
In corporate developments, Novo Nordisk revealed that its experimental obesity therapy, CagriSema, achieved its primary endpoint in a phase 3 trial, showcasing greater weight loss than a placebo. However, the findings did not meet the company's expectations, leading to a 21% drop in shares in Copenhagen.
Volkswagen is nearing a labor agreement as ongoing negotiations regarding worker compensation continue, as reported by various news outlets. Shares of Volkswagen climbed 1.7% on the DAX after the latest developments. Additionally, reports indicated that Swiss lawmakers have attributed the collapse of Credit Suisse in 2023 to both regulatory authorities and the bank's management.
This failure prompted a state-supported buyout by UBS, which stated that this report underscores the collapse's roots in "years of strategic errors, mismanagement, and reliance on regulatory concessions." UBS has since implemented measures to prevent a fate similar to Credit Suisse, including injecting an additional $20 billion in capital.
In other news, Rio Tinto's investor Palliser Capital has submitted a resolution for the upcoming annual general meeting of the British mining company. This resolution calls for an "independent, comprehensive, and transparent" review aimed at unifying its dual listing into a single Australian-domiciled holding company.
At this moment, Rio Tinto has not provided a comment on this matter..