European shares were broadly steady on Thursday with company news and macro events scarce in holiday-thinned trading, while Britain's FTSE 100 hovered just under a record high. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was flat in percentage terms by 0952 GMT, while blue-chips slipped 0.2 per cent.
A rally in commodity prices continued to support the resources-heavy FTSE 100 index, which was also flat. Europe's basic resources index was the best-performing sector, up 0.6 per cent.
Tech stocks extended the previous session's losses, when chipmakers were hit by concerns over demand for Apple's iPhone X. Shares in
More broadly, volumes have been muted and liquidity in short supply over the festive season in Europe, with little by way of company news to spur significant moves among single stocks. Shares in
Serviced office provider IWG was the biggest faller, down more than 2 per cent and giving up some of its 27 per cent gains from the previous session when it confirmed a bid approach from a Canadian private equity firm.
Nearing the year-end, European stocks have enjoyed a positive year, with the STOXX 600 up around 8 per cent in 2017 as buoyant company earnings and a brighter economic backdrop have fuelled the region's equities. Analysts also highlighted broader drivers of equity markets over the year.
“I think predominantly US sentiment and tax reforms have really driven (stock markets), as well as central banks starting to get a lot more hawkish - the ECB joining the US in some quantitative tightening, the opposite of the easing that we've had for years and years,” Henry Croft, research analyst at Accendo Markets, said.
Germany's DAX and Italy's benchmark are among this year's winners, up 13.7 per cent and 15.4 per cent respectively, while Britain's FTSE has managed to gain 6.7 per cent.