PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are down at the start of trading on Friday before ending a tumultuous 2022, dominated by the central banks’ offensive against soaring prices, by the economic slowdown and the war between Ukraine and Russia.
In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 0.56% to 6,536.62 points around 08:40 GMT. In London, which will close at 12:30 GMT, the FTSE 100 lost 0.43% and in Frankfurt, the Dax fell 0.54%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index is down 0.61%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.48% and the Stoxx 600 0.37%.
As in recent days, trading volumes should remain reduced in the absence of a good part of the investors.
For equities in the euro zone, the 2022 vintage should end with their worst performance since 2018: the CAC 40 is currently down 8.6%, the Dax 11.85% and the Stoxx 600 12.1%.
The MSCI global stock index is expected to do worse with an annual fall of around 20%, not seen since the 2008 financial crisis.
The Footsie, on the other hand, should do well with a slightly positive performance over the year as a whole, the flagship London index having benefited from its exposure to commodity prices, which rose with the war in Ukraine.
“Investors will enter 2023 with a cautious mindset, ready for further rate hikes by central banks and possible recessions anywhere in the world,” said Craig Erlam at Oanda.
“And then there’s China and its U-turn on COVID-19 prevention. We’ve gone from fighting every case to living with the virus, which creates huge uncertainty for the start of the year,” added the analyst.
(Laetitia Volga, edited by Sophie Louet)