European shares closed lower on Thursday, paring some of December's strong gains on the last day of trading in countries including Germany, Spain and Italy, with China growth and eurozone debt concerns weighing on sentiment. The FTSEurofirst 300 closed down 1.3 percent at 1,128.55 points, and while the fall is the largest one-day retreat this month, the benchmark index remains on track to record its biggest monthly gain since March.
Volumes were low, however, continuing the pattern of the last week, which meant it was hard to read too much into the decline, especially after the strength of the so-called "Santa rally" earlier in the month, said analysts. The increased investor caution was also seen in the VDAX-NEW volatility index, which rose 6.8 percent to a three-week high. The higher the reading, which weighs puts against calls on the top 30 Frankfurt stocks, the more risk averse investors are.
A 1.9 percent slide in benchmark US crude, on the back of rising US oil and product stocks, underpinned a 1.3 percent fall in the STOXX Europe 600 oil and gas index, with Total and Statoil down around 1 percent. Among individual stocks, Norway's Yara International ended up 0.9 percent, bucking a largely weaker STOXX 600 Chemicals index, after traders said cold weather had spurred demand for salt to fight slippery road conditions. Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 fell 0.4 to 1.2 percent.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.