European stocks stable as investors await indicators on ‎monetary policy

European stocks began performing tepidly at the beginning of trading on Wednesday, and the momentum that pushed the market to rise at the end of last year began to lose its strength as investors awaited key indicators during the day that may determine the course of global monetary policy.

According to Reuters, the European STOXX 600 index stabilized at 0810 GMT after it began the first trading session of the new year on Tuesday with a weak performance. The index rose 12.7% in 2023, driven by increasing expectations of reducing interest rates.

Investors are awaiting the release of unemployment data in Germany and the Purchasing Managers’ Index in Switzerland for December. Focus is also on a basic report on jobs in the United States and the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting for December.

Maersk shares rose 4.2% after Goldman Sachs raised its recommendation for the shipping company’s stock to “neutral” from “sell” based on the increase in shipping fees due to unrest in the Red Sea region.

The shares of the French information technology company Atos also jumped 3.1% thanks to plans to hold technical examination talks with Airbus regarding the sale of its huge data and security unit. But the shares of computer chip equipment manufacturer ASML fell 1.3% for the second day in a row after the Dutch government partially canceled a license to export some shipments to China.