European stocks set to open higher in holiday-thinned trade
- Global investors are looking for a Santa Claus rally to close out a year of solid returns.
- The FTSE and the DAX are on track to see gains of 15% for this year, while the French CAC is close to a 30% gain.
LONDON – European indexes looked set to open mostly higher on Thursday as holiday-thinned trading continued in the region.
The German DAX is set to rise by 18 points to 15,856 and the French CAC by 10 points to 7,163, but the U.K.'s FTSE is expected to drop 3 points to 7,413.
Global investors are looking for a Santa Claus rally to close out a year of solid returns. The FTSE and the DAX are on track to see gains of 15% for this year, while the French CAC is close to a 30% gain.
Many benchmarks historically gain during the Santa Claus rally — the final five trading days of the current year and the first two of the new year. The period began Monday.
Shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher in Thursday trade while U.S. stock index futures were little changed during overnight trading after the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at new records.
Market players have spent recent weeks juggling concerns over new Covid restrictions and tighter central bank policy with early studies suggesting omicron strain of the virus is milder than previous variants like delta. New studies in South Africa and the U.K. last week suggested omicron has a reduced risk of hospitalization and severe illness.
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