LONDON—European stock markets closed in tentative positive territory on Thursday, with Ukraine peace talks in focus.
pan-european Stocks 600 It was up 0.5% at the closing bell, with most major stock exchanges and sectors rising.
Apparel companies bookended the index on Wednesday as Zara’s parent company Inditex topped the Stoxx 600 index and closed 10% higher, extending its gains with a 2.7% rise on Thursday.
hugo bossMeanwhile, the stock fell 0.9% during the session. This follows a 10% drop in the previous session after the company cut its profit outlook.
volvo cars On Wednesday, it reported that November sales were down 10% from a year earlier. The company sold 60,244 cars last month, but only all-electric models were up, which Chief Commercial Officer Eric Severinson called “encouraging” even though U.S. sales remain “subdued” after the phaseout of the EV tax credit.
Shares in Jeep owner Stellantis rose about 3.6%, consolidating Wednesday’s gains after Swiss investment bank UBS upgraded the stock to “buy” and advised investors to bet on the company’s “resurrection in America.” UBS expects Stellantis to regain market share by about 120 basis points in 2026 from a year ago, adding that the automaker will also benefit from relaxed U.S. emissions standards and internal cost-cutting measures.
Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia continue, with the head of Ukraine’s National Security Council, Rustem Umerov, scheduled to meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Miami on Thursday. This comes after talks between Russia and the US on Tuesday failed to yield a breakthrough.
French President Emmanuel Macron is in Beijing on Thursday to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The French leader is expected to urge the Chinese leader to further strengthen cooperation on Ukraine issues.
This follows a move by the European Union to use frozen Russian assets as a “reparation loan” to Ukraine, an idea that has been thwarted in previous attempts.
On the currency front, the euro hit a seven-week high of $1.167 against the dollar on Wednesday, as the dollar continues to weaken despite some stabilization in the second half of the year. The cross rate was last seen at $1.1658.
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Thursday as global investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s Dec. 10 interest rate decision.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, the market has priced in about an 89% chance of a rate cut at the next meeting, which is much higher than the probability as of mid-November.
