European Stocks Close Weak On Profit Taking

(RTTNews) - European stocks closed lower on Thursday, weighed down by a bit of profit taking after recent gains that have taken several markets in the region to record highs amid rising optimism the Federal Reserve will cut interest rate soon.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.11%. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged down 0.03%, Germany's DAX closed lower by 0.24%, France's CAC 40 declined 0.48%, and Switzerland's SMI finished with a loss of 0.51%.

Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Spain ended weak.

Denmark, Iceland, Russia and Turkiye closed higher, while Netherlands and Sweden ended flat.

In the UK market, BT and Just Eat Takeawy.com both ended more than 2% down. Hargreaves Lansdown, ITV, Flutter Entertainment, Smurfit Kappa Group and Entain ended lower by 1 to 1.4%.

Carnival gained 1.7%, recovering from previous session's losses. Scottish Mortgage, BAE Systems, Unilever, TUI, Rio Tinto and Prudential ended higher by 0.5 to 1.2%.

In the German market, Infineon, Volkswagen, Siemens Energy, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Adidas, Deutsche Post and Mercedes-Benz ended down 0.5 to 1.1%.

In Paris, TotalEnergies, Societe Generale, Engie, Dassault Systemes, WorldLine, Kering and Renault lost 1 to 1.7%. BNP Paribas, Hermes International, Legrand and Capgemini also closed weak.

The data from the Labor Department showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended December 23rd, has added to optimism about the likelihood of near-term interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 218,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week's revised level of 206,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 210,000 from the 205,000 originally reported for the previous week.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicates a 72.8% chance the Fed will lower rates by a quarter point in March.