European stock markets faced a downturn in Tuesday trading, with The Stoxx Europe declining by 0.50%. The FTSE in London slipped 0.86%, France's CAC fell 1.14%, and the Swiss Market Index saw a loss of 1.01%, while Germany's DAX managed a slight increase of 0.02%. The annual inflation rate in Germany has risen for the third consecutive month, climbing to 2.2% in November compared to the same month last year, up from 2.0% in October and 1.6% in September. In corporate news, shares of Ashtead Group plummeted 14% on the FTSE after announcing plans to move its primary listing from the London Stock Exchange to the United States, while still maintaining a UK listing in the International Companies segment.
The British equipment rental firm stated that the decision "is in the best interests of the business and its stakeholders." Additionally, Shell, the British oil and gas giant, has settled out of court with Greenpeace over legal matters regarding climate activists occupying a Shell offshore vessel in the UK North Sea for almost two weeks during a protest in 2023.
Shell has not yet replied to requests for comments. Finnish telecommunications company Nokia has revealed that it signed a multi-year contract extension with Iliad Group to improve 3G, 4G, and 5G network services in France and Italy. This contract extension is intended to enhance network performance and scalability for Iliad's customer base, according to Nokia. Alphabet's Google and Meta now face increasing scrutiny from the European Commission concerning a reported secret advertising partnership that allegedly evaded Google's regulations on minors.
The Financial Times noted that European regulators are seeking information from Google about its advertising practices, and a spokesperson for the European Commission indicated that the agency is "currently assessing the replies and deciding on possible next steps." Meta has yet to respond to requests for comments from MT Newswires. Lastly, European automaker Stellantis and Contemporary Amperex Technology have come to an agreement to invest up to 4.1 billion euros ($4.32 billion) in a joint venture aimed at developing a large-scale lithium iron phosphate battery plant in Spain..