LONDON — European stocks opened in positive territory on Thursday.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was almost 0.3% higher at the opening bell, with all major bourses in the green but sectors mixed.
Apparel companies book-ended the benchmark on Wednesday. Zara’s parent company Inditex led the benchmark after it reported strong nine-month results, closing the session 10% higher, and extended gains on Thursday as it edged up 0.2%.
Hugo Boss, meanwhile, shed 10% in the previous session after lowering its guidance.
Volvo Cars on Wednesday reported a 10% drop in sales in November year-on-year. It sold 60,244 cars in November and saw growth only in its fully electric models, which Chief Commercial Officer Erik Severinson said was “encouraging” despite U.S. sales remaining “subdued” after the phase-out of EV tax credits.
Shares of Jeep owner Stellantis advanced 0.4%, further cementing gains from the previous session, after Swiss investment bank UBS upgraded the stock to a Buy rating and advised investors to bet on the firm’s “American comeback.” UBS said it expects Stellantis to regain market share by around 120 basis points year-on-year in 2026, adding that the car maker would also get a boost from relaxed U.S. emissions standards and internal cost cutting measures.
Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations continue as Rustem Umerov, the head of Ukraine’s national security council, is expected to meet U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff for talks in Miami on Thursday. It comes after discussions held between Russia and the U.S. failed to deliver a breakthrough on Tuesday.
French President Emmanuel Macron is in Beijing on Thursday for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The French leader is expected to urge his Chinese counterpart to do more to cooperate on Ukraine resolution.
It follows moves by the European Union to use frozen Russian assets as a ‘reparations loan’ to Ukraine, though the idea has been blocked in previous attempts.
On currency, the euro hit a seven-week high against the dollar on Wednesday at 1.167 as the dollar continues to see some depreciating despite somewhat stabilizing in the second half of the year.
There are a handful of data releases today including European HCOB Construction PMI and retail sales, and U.K. car sales.
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Thursday as global investors look ahead to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Dec. 10.
Markets are pricing a roughly 89% chance of a rate cut during the upcoming meeting, which is much higher than the odds from mid-November, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Stateside, stock futures were little changed Wednesday night. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 65 points, or 0.14%. S&P futures hovered above the flatline, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell less than 0.1%.