The European stock markets demonstrated resilience as they closed mostly higher during Tuesday's trading session. The Stoxx Europe index gained 0.34%, reflecting positive investor sentiment across the continent. Meanwhile, Germany's DAX index rose by 0.66%, indicating strong performance in the German market.
France’s CAC saw an increase of 0.59%, and the Swiss Market Index climbed 1.19%, showcasing solid gains. However, London's FTSE ended the day slightly lower with a 0.05% decrease. In the macroeconomic landscape, Euro area annual inflation is projected to have risen to an estimated 2.4% in December, up from 2.2% in November, based on flash estimates from Eurostat, which serves as the statistical office of the European Union.
The highest inflation rates were reported in Croatia and Belgium, at 4.5% and 4.4%, respectively. On the flip side, Italy and Ireland recorded the lowest inflation figures of 1.4% and 1%, respectively. Eurostat's analyses further highlighted that the euro area’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 6.3% in November, unchanged from October, but reflecting an improvement from 6.5% noted a year earlier.
The unemployment rate within the EU remained steady at 5.9% for November, staying the same from the previous month, and marking a decline from 6.1% in November 2022. Turning towards France, annual inflation is anticipated to remain stable at 1.3% for December, mirroring November’s figures, according to the provisional estimates from the Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE).
This stability is attributed to a slight uptick in energy prices, which was counterbalanced by falling prices in manufactured goods. In Switzerland, the consumer price index recorded a modest decline of 0.1% in December compared to the previous month, but reflects a 0.6% increase year-on-year, as reported by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. In corporate updates, British pharmaceutical giant GSK announced that its investigational drug GSK5764227, aimed at treating relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma, has received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration, marking a significant step for the company in cancer treatment innovation. Furthermore, Stellantis revealed it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with dSPACE, a simulation software company, aimed at accelerating the cloud-based development processes for its vehicles.
Following this announcement, shares of the European automaker increased by 1.1% in Paris trading. On another note, Tesla is in the process of appealing to an administrative court in Sweden, requesting that the court compel a government agency to provide license plates currently being withheld due to actions by postal workers in solidarity with other unions within the country.
As of now, Tesla has not responded to inquiries from multiple media outlets regarding this matter..