European markets closed Wednesday's trading session with mixed performance, in a shortened session on the eve of Christmas, as investors wrapped up their assessment of a year filled with volatility.
The Stoxx 600 index closed slightly below the neutral level, with mixed performance among the major exchanges, and the markets closed early at 12:30 PM London time.
The index recorded a new all-time high closing on Tuesday, supported by the strong rise in shares of Novo Nordisk listed in Copenhagen, after it received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first GLP-1 drug in pill form. The stock continued its rise on Wednesday, up by 9.2%, further boosting the strong upward wave.
On the other hand, the French company Sanofi announced on Tuesday its acquisition of the American company Dynavax for about $2.2 billion, as Dynavax has a vaccine approved for hepatitis B in adults and is working on developing a vaccine against shingles. Sanofi's shares closed down by 0.3%.
Shares of Puma sportswear fell by 1.6%, being one of the notable negative movers of the session, after the German company announced a bridge loan of 500 million euros and obtained credit facilities of 108 million euros on December 18, amidst ongoing previous rumors about a potential acquisition and a decline in the stock by more than 50% since the beginning of the year.
In a related context, gold and silver futures continued to rise this week, reaching new record levels on Monday and Tuesday, with gold trading at $4521.90 per ounce and silver at $72.365 per ounce.
On another note, restrictions were imposed on the entry visas of several European figures to the United States, including former European Commissioner Thierry Breton linked to the Digital Services Act, and activists against misinformation, allegedly to impose censorship on American social media platforms. This coincided with U.S. President Donald Trump's tightening of travel restrictions and his criticisms of the European Union. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the administration would not tolerate what he described as cross-border censorship.
Finally, markets in Asia and the Pacific mostly traded higher, with several indices preparing for an early close in celebration of Christmas Eve, while U.S. stock futures hovered near breakeven, and the S&P 500 index recorded a new all-time high closing.
