European Stocks Tumble, End Final Session Of Year On Weak Note

European stocks ended the final session of Year 2022 on a very weak note as fears about a recession, worries about rising rates, surging Covid cases in China, and an escalation in Russia-Ukraine tensions all weighed on sentiment and rendered the mood bearish.

The pan European Stoxx 600 declined 1.27% on Friday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 0.81%, Germany's DAX shed 1.05% and France's CAC 40 lost 1.52%, while Switzerland's SMI ended 1.18% down.

The Stoxx 600 fell 12.8% this year, after rising as much as 22.2% in 2021. Germany's DAX dropped more than 12% in 2022 after seeing a 16% jump a year earlier. The CAC 40 lost nearly 10% this year, while the FTSE 100 outperformed its peers and added about 1%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden ended weak.

Greece, Iceland, Russia and Turkiye closed higher.

In the UK market, Barratt Developments, Persimmon, BT Group, Ocado Group, RightMove, Halma, Auto Trader Group, DCC, Schrodders and Taylor Wimpey lost 2 to 3.1%.

Rentokil Initial, Airtel Africa, Ashtead Group, IAG, Lloyds Banking Group, RS Group, Frasers Group, Weir Group, Croda International and BP ended lower by 1 to 2%.

JD Sports Fashion, Coca-Cola HBC and Fresnillo gained 2.5%, 2.25% and 1.85%, respectively. Rolls-Royce Holdings, Next and Scottish Mortgage also closed higher.

In Paris, Hermes International, Michelin, LVMH, Unibail Rodamco, Eurofins Scientific, Schneider Electric and Essilor lost 2 to 3%.

In the German market, Zalando, HelloFresh, Deutsche Telekom, Continental, Bayer, Vonovia, Symrise, HeidelbergCement, Allianz, SAP, Merck and Deutsche Wohnen ended lower by 1 to 3.3%.

In economic releases, U.K. house price inflation slowed markedly at the end of the year as the rising interest rates and high inflation started to dampen the affordability of home buyers, data from the mortgage lender Nationwide showed earlier today.

House prices were 2.8% higher than in December 2021. This was slower than November's 4.4% increase, but faster than economists' forecast of 2.3%.

On a monthly basis, house prices dropped at a slower pace of 0.1 percent after a 1.4% decrease in November.

Switzerland's economic outlook is set to improve somewhat at the beginning of 2023, results of a key survey by KOF Swiss Economic Institue showed.

The economic barometer rose to a three-month high of 92.2 points in December from 89.5 in September, which was revised from 89.2, the KOF Swiss Economic Institute said. Economists had forecast a score of 90.5.

The KOF barometer, which is a leading indicator for turning points in the Swiss economy, improved for the first time in six months.

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