European markets fall in last full trading day of 2024

European markets traded in negative territory on Monday, in what will be the region’s final full trading session of the year.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was around 0.5% lower at 1:32 p.m. London time, with most sectors in negative territory.

Technology, industrials and media stocks led the losses, while oil and gas stocks saw gains.

Trading is expected to be muted in Europe on Monday, as markets prepare to wind down for the New Year holiday. Exchanges in the region are scheduled to either close early or shut entirely on Tuesday until Jan. 2.

European stocks look set to round out the year with moderate gains. The Stoxx 600 is up around 5.5% so far this year — however, it’s a far cry from the U.S. S&P 500 index, which has gained around 25% over the course of 2024.

U.S. markets opened lower Monday, with light trade expected.

Overnight in Asia, stocks were mixed as investors monitored political turmoil in South Korea, as well as industrial data out of the country. Japan also published economic data at the start of the week that showed the contraction in its factory activity slowed down this month.

Shares of Korean airlines were down on Monday following the Jeju Air plane crash that killed 179 people a day earlier, with Jeju Air’s share price hitting an all-time low.

Meanwhile, New York-listed shares of Boeing — whose 737-800 series aircraft was involved in the accident — were down around 3.5% in premarket trade on Monday. South Korean authorities are set to conduct an investigation into the crash in an effort to determine its exact cause, with officials planning to inspect all Boeing 737-800 planes in operation by domestic carriers as part of their investigations.

Shares of French competitor Airbus were 0.6% lower at 1:13 p.m. London time, while Dassault Aviation — a French manufacturer of military and business jets — rose toward the top of the Stoxx 600 after its shares gained 1.5%.

European airline stocks were mixed, with Lufthansa shares up 0.7%, making it one of the Stoxx 600 index’s top performers during afternoon deals. British Airways owner IAG, meanwhile, was little changed, while budget airline EasyJet was 0.4% lower.

At the bottom of the Stoxx 600 on Monday morning was British online grocery retailer Ocado. The company’s London-listed shares were down 3.6% after reports last week that many of its Christmas deliveries were missing essential items.

Ocado said in an emailed statement that a small proportion of seasonal orders had not been delivered as expected, and that it had apologized to those affected.

Elsewhere in Europe, a flash estimate published Monday by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) said the country’s annual EU-harmonized inflation rate had risen to 2.8% in December, up from the 2.4% figure recorded in November.

The figure was higher than the 2.6% forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.

Spain’s core inflation — which excludes fresh food and energy prices — was up 2.6% on an annual basis, the INE estimate showed.

The update followed European Central Bank Governing Council member Robert Holzmann telling Austrian newspaper Kurier over the weekend that the institution may slow down its rate cutting campaign thanks to sticky inflation.

“I don’t see any interest rate hikes at the moment,” he said. “What could happen, though, is that one takes more time until the next interest rate cut.”

His comments came as Italian lawmakers passed their government’s 2025 budget, which aims to bring the country’s fiscal deficit closer to 3% in order to comply with EU rules.

In an interview published Saturday, France’s newly appointed Finance Minister Eric Lombard told news outlet La Tribune Dimanche the country’s impending budget bill for 2025 would aim for a deficit of just above 5%, according to a translation by news agency Reuters.

 — CNBC’s Lee Ying Shan and Reuters contributed to this European markets summary.