Europe stocks open mixed
Stoxx 600 index.
European stock markets opened mixed on Thursday as investors assessed political uncertainty in France.
France’s CAC 40 was up 0.13% at 8:11 a.m. in London, while Germany’s DAX gained 0.06%. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.05%.
— Jenni Reid
France faces bond market jitters but it is not Greece in 2010, economist says
France is facing an unsustainable debt trajectory and higher bond yields, but its situation is not the same as the Greek sovereign debt crisis of 2010, according to George Lagarias, chief economist at Forvis Mazars.
“France is not insolvent to begin with, A, and B, big countries, G7 countries, they don’t get debt crises in the 21st century. This is the purview of smaller countries. Greece was insolvent way before any of that happened,” Lagarias told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”
France has faced months of political instability since its snap summer election, and its minority government was ousted in a no-confidence vote on Wednesday.
French borrowing costs have risen to a 12-year high against Germany’s amid concerns that it will not be able to pass a budget to reduce its deficit, while its bond yields drew level with Greece’s for the first time on record. That was seen by analysts as a symbolic milestone, given France’s stronger fundamentals and Greece’s turbulent market history, which saw its bonds downgraded to junk status in 2010 and subsequent bailouts.
“France is going through something, it’s political tumult… There might be some jitters in the bond markets, because bond markets are really upset about inflation and tariffs and all that. So, you know, some of that could seep into the bond markets going forward, some of that uncertainty. But France is not Greece,” Lagarias said.
“We have to acknowledge it’s not the euro zone crisis, [countries] can borrow their way out of trouble, just not at the pace that they’re used to. We have debt acceleration, and that happens everywhere in the world right now. The U.S. is the primary culprit.”
— Jenni Reid
Shell and Equinor to create Britain’s largest independent oil and gas company in joint venture
Oil major Shell and Norway’s Equinor on Thursday announced plans to combine their British offshore oil and gas assets to create a jointly owned energy company.
Read the full story here.
— Sam Meredith
UK regulator clears Vodafone-Three merger
The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority on Monday approved the merger of telecom firms Vodafone and Three.
The CMA set several conditions for the £15 billion ($19.5 billion) deal, including that the companies commit to investing billions to roll out a combined 5G network across the U.K.
The organization had previously raised concerns the combined entity would lead to price increases for tens of millions of customers or see some users get reduced services.
Vodafone share price.
Read the full story here.
— Jenni Reid
Bitcoin tops $100,000 for the first time ever
The price of bitcoin soared past the long-awaited $100,000 benchmark for the first time ever late Wednesday evening.
The flagship cryptocurrency was last higher by more than 7% at $102,879.60, according to Coin Metrics. Earlier, it rose as high as $103,844.05.
The move came hours after President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to nominate Paul Atkins as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The same day, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said bitcoin was “just like gold only it’s virtual, it’s digital,” speaking at the DealBook conference.
For more on bitcoin’s historic milestone read our full story here.
— Tanaya Macheel
CNBC Pro: ‘It is key to remain invested,’ Julius Baer portfolio manager says. Here’s how she’s investing
The persistent uncertainty in financial markets has raised questions on portfolio construction and how to invest across asset classes as 2025 nears.
One long-term investor is now playing the market by staying invested and being well-diversified.
“We believe it is key to remain invested and view any potential corrections as technical and temporary opportunities to get into the market,” Julius Baer International’s portfolio manager Aneka Beneby said.
She also revealed how and what she is allocating to in the lead up to the new year.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Amala Balakrishner
European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are expected to open lower Thursday.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 17 points lower at 8,342, Germany’s DAX down 7 points at 20,225, France’s CAC down 28 points at 7,275 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 82 points at 33,747, according to data from IG.
There are no major earnings or data releases in Europe Thursday.
— Holly Ellyatt