STOXX 600 inches lower at start of Christmas week; Novo Nordisk surges

By Ankika Biswas

(Reuters) – Europe’s STOXX 600 was slightly down at the start of a holiday-shortened week, after clocking its steepest weekly drop since early September, but a spike in Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) shares boosted the healthcare sector and capped losses on the main stock index.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.1% as of 0850 GMT amid a light event calendar, with trading volumes expected to be low ahead of the Christmas break.

Leading sectoral declines, travel and leisure fell nearly 2%, hit by a 10% slide in Swedish online gaming company Evolution. Media was also among the worst-hit sub-indexes, down 1%.

However, Novo Nordisk soared 9.2%, aiding a 1.4% jump in the healthcare sub-index.

This comes after the drugmaker’s disappointing results for experimental obesity drug CagriSema wiped out as much as $125 billion off its market value on Friday, down nearly 21%. Separately, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Novo Nordisk’s bleeding disorder drug Alhemo.

Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) shed 1.2%, erasing early gains that came after the automaker struck a deal with unions after months of talks.

Direct Line (LON:DLGD) rose 3% on British insurer Aviva (LON:AV)’s plans to buy the company in a 3.7 billion pound ($4.65 billion) cash-and-stock deal.

Meanwhile, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said the euro zone was getting “very close” to reaching 2%, according to a Financial Times interview.

Lagarde also said she opposed retaliation by Europe to tariff threats made by incoming U.S. President Donald Trump. Concerns over this have already weighed on the bloc’s risk assets, piling on its worsening economic outlook.

The STOXX 600, which is up just around 5% for the year, has sharply lagged behind a 24% jump in the S&P 500 .

Trump’s comments about potential tariffs on the European Union spooked investors and steered a sharp fall in equities on Friday, with the Federal Reserve’s projections of fewer rate cuts in 2025 also sapping investor sentiment last week.

“Equities had already rallied into the (first ECB rate) cut, as the anticipated recession never materialized. After six months of largely flat equity markets while faster and further cuts by the ECB have become increasingly likely… one more reason to be positive on European equities into 2025,” a Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn) note said.

Meanwhile, Spain’s GDP grew 0.8% in the third quarter, while Britain’s economy failed to grow and added to signs of a slowdown that have cast a shadow over Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s new government.

Spain and UK’s main stock indexes were down 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively.