The major European markets moved slightly higher on Monday even as stocks swung between gains and losses in cautious trade amid a lack of significant triggers. Defense stocks shed ground amid signs of progress in Ukraine peace talks.
U.S. President Donald Trump said a Ukraine peace deal is "getting a lot closer" although territorial issues remain unsolved.
The pan European Stoxx 600 was up 0.11% at 589.36 a little while ago. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 moved up 0.2% to 9,890.90. Germany's DAX was up 18.87 points or 0.1% 24,358.93, while France's CAC 40 gained 17.96 points or 0.22% at 8,121.54.
In the UK market, miners Fresnillo, Glencore, Anglo American Plc and Antofagasta moved up 1 to 2%.
Convatec Group, Entain, Mondi, Segro, Barratt Redrow, Berkeley Group Holdings, Persimmon and Experian were the notable gainers from other sectors.
Babcock International drifted lower by about 2.5%. Beazley, Hiscox, British American Tobacco, BT Group, Endeavour Mining, BAE Systems, Melrose Industries, Easyjet and Rolls-Royce Holdings lost 0.9 to 1.7%.
In the German market, Rheinmetall slid nearly 2.5%. Siemens Energy shed about 1%, while Munich RE, Qiagen, Fresenius, Scout 24, GEA Group, Allianz and Deutsche Bank posted modest losses.
Continental moved up 2.1%. Adidas, Mercedes-Benz, BASF, Brenntag, Bayer and Vonovia gained 1 to 1.7%. BMW, SAP, Beiersdorf, Heidelberg Materials, Zalando and Merck also moved higher.
In the French market, ArcelorMittal climbed 1.3%. Saint Gobain, TP and Publicis Groupe gained 1 to 1.2%.
STMicroElectronics, Michelin, Sanofi, Edenred, TotalEnergies, Societe Generale, Accor and Veolia Environment posted moderate gains.
Thales, Safran, Eurofins Scientific, Kering, Pernod Ricard, AXA and Danone lost 0.4 to 1.2%.
In economic news, the number of people registered as unemployed in mainland France declined by 21,500 in November 2025 to 3.129 million, following two consecutive periods of sharp increases. In October, jobless claims stood at 3.151 million, a seven-month high.
On year-on-year basis, the total number of registered unemployed increased by 197,300 compared to November 2024.
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Market Analysis
December 26, 2025 08:42 ET Third quarter economic growth data from some major economies including the U.S. were the main news in this holiday shortened week. GDP growth and industrial production data from the U.S. helped to boost morale, while the consumer confidence survey results were less upbeat. In Europe, the quarterly economic growth data from the U.K. drew attention, while the minutes of the Australian central bank’s latest policy session was in focus in Asia.