European stock markets close negative in the day before the year-end closing

The main European stock markets closed negative this Thursday, in a session without relevant economic indicators in Europe and after the initial unemployment claims in the United States were known, which increased more than expected.

The places that lost the most were Paris 0.48% and Madrid 0.35%; followed by Milan, which fell by 0.30% and Frankfurt by 0.24%, while London remained practically flat and lost 0.03%.

The Eurostoxx 50, which groups together the companies with the highest stock market value listed in the euro zone, fell 0.31%, according to market data consulted by EFE.

All stock markets opened the session in green, but shortly after they changed course and fell until they recorded widespread losses in a day without relevant macro news for the European markets.

In Asia, Tokyo’s main stock market, the Nikkei, closed the day with a drop of 0.42%, while Hong Kong and Shanghai rose 2.52% and 2.34%, respectively.

In the US, Wall Street opened the session with a positive sign, which it maintained until the close of the European stock markets, when the Dow Jones rose 0.16%, the Nasdaq 0.19% and the S&P 500 0.14%.

This Thursday the data on initial unemployment claims in the US for the week ending December 23 was published, which increased by 12,000 claims to 218,000 -compared to the expected 210,000-.

In the United States, the data on pending home sales for November was also known, which remained at the historic low of 71.6 – the lowest level recorded since 2001 -, according to Bloomberg.

Gold fell 0.19% after the end of the session in Europe to $2,073, while a barrel of Brent, the benchmark oil in Europe, fell 1.33% to cost $78.59.

The euro depreciated against the dollar by 0.32% until it was exchanged at 1.107 units.

In the debt market, the yield on the German bond, considered the safest, rose 5 basis points and stands at 1.941%.