(Reuters) – European shares were muted on Wednesday, as the market rally from the previous year started to lose steam, with investors keeping an eye out for major factors during the day that could determine the path for monetary policy globally.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was flat by 0810 GMT, after kicking off the first trading session of the New Year on a lacklustre note on Tuesday. The index gained 12.7% in 2023 on growing expectations of interest rate cuts.
Investors will closely monitor Germany’s unemployment data and Switzerland’s PMI for December, while the focus would be on a key U.S. jobs report and minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December policy meeting.
Shares of Maersk rose 4.2% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the shipping company’s stock rating to “neutral” from “sell”, citing a boost from rising freight rates amid disruptions at the Red Sea.
French IT company Atos jumped 3.1% on plans of due diligence talks with Airbus regarding the sale of its big data & security unit.
Computer chip equipment maker ASML fell 1.3%, down for the second day, following the Dutch government’s partial revoking of an export licence for some China shipments.
(Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
