LONDON – European markets closed mixed on Wednesday as investors reflected on a volatile year during abbreviated Christmas Eve trading.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended just below the flatline with major exchanges mixed before Wednesday’s early close at 12:30pm London (7:30am ET).
The benchmark hit a new all-time high on Tuesday, buoyed by a soaring share price after Copenhagen-listed Novo Nordisk received FDA approval for its first-ever GLP-1 pill. Novo Nordisk shares continued to rise on Wednesday, closing 9.2% higher.
french pharmaceutical company sanofi announced on Tuesday that it would acquire a U.S. company. dynabucks In a contract worth $2.2 billion. Dynavax is marketing an adult hepatitis B vaccine and a shingles vaccine candidate. Sanofi stock ended the day down 0.3%.
sportswear brands puma ‘s stock fell 1.6%, one of Wednesday’s biggest movers. The German company announced a €500 million bridging loan and a €108 million loan on December 18, and was the subject of takeover rumors earlier this month. The company’s stock price has fallen more than 50% since the beginning of the year.
gold and silver Futures prices have fallen sharply this week, hitting new highs during both Monday and Tuesday trading. They were last seen trading at $4,521.90 and $72.365 an ounce, respectively, on Wednesday.
Thierry Breton, a former European Union commissioner promoting the Digital Services Act, and anti-disinformation activists have had their visas suspended by the United States for allegedly censoring American social media platforms. The incident comes as President Donald Trump continues to tighten travel restrictions on foreign travelers and criticizes Europe.
“For too long, European ideologues have led a systematic effort to force the American platform to punish American views they disagree with, and the Trump administration will no longer tolerate such outrageous acts of censorship,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in X, without naming anyone. Deputy Public Diplomacy Secretary Sarah Rogers later identified the five people affected.
Elsewhere, Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher as several indexes were scheduled to close early due to the Christmas Eve holiday. U.S. stock futures traded nearly flat overnight, even though the S&P 500 index also hit a record close.
