A collective rise in European stock indices, except for the German DAX.

European stock indices experienced mixed gains during trading on Thursday, except for the German index, which was affected by the negative data released in Germany today and yesterday. This data showed a contraction in industrial production for the largest economy in the Eurozone during December on a yearly basis, despite the improvement observed on a monthly basis. This follows yesterday’s data that indicated a sharp contraction in factory orders in the country during November.

During today’s session, the performance of major European stock indices was as follows:

• The Euro Stoxx 600 index rose by 0.15% to record 514.44 points.
• The French CAC 40 index increased by 0.35% to 7,477.58 points.
• The German DAX index fell by 0.12%, registering 20,306.88 points.
• The British FTSE 100 index rose by 0.63% to 8,302.72 points, with the pound sterling dropping to its lowest level since November 2023 against the dollar.
• The Italian FTSE MIB index increased by approximately 0.10% to 35,44.65 points.
• The Spanish IBEX 35 index rose by about 0.39%, recording 11,843.70 points.

The gains in the mining and oil sectors were the main support for the Euro Stoxx 600 index today, with the mining index rising by about 2%, boosted by major exploration companies like Anglo American, Rio Tinto, and Antofagasta. Additionally, the oil sector index increased by around 1%.

However, today’s trading volume was low, as investors prepared for the holiday in Wall Street in memory of the late U.S. President Jimmy Carter.