There will be no European equities reports on Dec. 25 and 26; Reuters will resume coverage on Dec. 29
Updates after market close
BP sells majority stake in Castrol
Luxury sector leads gains
Many markets closed for Christmas Eve holiday
By Ragini Mathur and Twesha Dikshit
Dec 24 (Reuters) - European shares ended the holiday-shortened trading week near record highs and on track for their strongest annual performance since 2021, supported by easing interest rates, Germany’s fiscal spending push and diversification from richly valued U.S. technology stocks.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX was unchanged at 588.61 on Wednesday. London's FTSE 100 .FTSE dipped 0.2%, Spain's IBEX .IBEX was unchanged and France's CAC 40 .FCHI was 0.1% lower.
Liquidity was thin with bourses in Amsterdam .AEX, Brussels .BFX and Paris .FCHI closing early, while markets in Germany .GDAXI and Milan .FTMIB were shut all day.
Luxury stocks .STXLUXP were the top gainers with heavyweights Cartier-owner Richemont CFR.S, LVMH LVMH.PA and Kering PRTP.PA adding around 1% each.
Miners .SXPP ticked up after prices of gold, silver, platinum and copper hit record highs. GOL/ MET/L
Swissquote senior market analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said "forces pushing metal prices higher" such as heavy government debt in 2026, geopolitical uncertainty and looser monetary policy, among others, keep the outlook for metals prices positive in the medium to long term.
"In the short term, however, prices have risen too far, too fast, and a correction would be healthy."
Aerospace & defence stocks .SXPARO led declines, dipping 0.2%. The index is among the top gainers this year, up almost 56%.
The European benchmark marked a fresh all-time-high on Tuesday after pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO secured U.S. approval for its weight-loss pill.
Sentiment was also lifted by data showing the U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter.
"This is supportive for equities, as it underpins expectations for continued earnings strength into 2026 ... (but) it complicates the outlook for monetary policy," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com
Markets expect the next Fed chair to lean dovish, keeping the U.S. policy outlook central for investors next year. Europe’s rate path looks more hawkish into 2026 after the European Central Bank held rates last week, signalling a possible end to its easing cycle and a potential divergence from the Fed.
BP BP.L rose more than 1% before ending down 0.4% after agreeing to sell a 65% stake in Castrol to investment firm Stonepeak for about $6 billion.
French drugmaker Sanofi SASY.PA said it would buy U.S. vaccines company Dynavax Technologies DVAX.O for around $2.2 billion, in a deal that will give it access to an approved hepatitis B vaccine. Sanofi's shares were marginally lower.
(Reporting by Ragini Mathur, Purvi Agarwal and Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Kirsten Donovan)
((Ragini.Mathur@thomsonreuters.com;))