European stocks experienced minimal movement on Thursday as global markets sought to achieve new record highs for the year-end. As mid-morning approached, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index remained relatively stable. Health care stocks recorded a 0.5% increase, while oil and gas stocks saw a decline of 0.6%. The continental blue chip index traded around the 478.66 level, not far below its previous record closing high of 483.44 achieved in November 2021.
In the United States, premarket trading saw little variation in U.S. stock futures after another day of modest gains on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 index also drawing near to its own record high.
Across Asia-Pacific, most markets witnessed gains overnight, with mainland China and Hong Kong leading the way. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index hovered close to a two-year high. However, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Topix indices experienced slight declines, bucking the overall trend.
Source (CNBC)
