US stocks rise, but Europe falters

The pre-Christmas rally appears to have begun on Wall Street, but in Europe festive cheer is again lacking, said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at online trading platform IG.

Wall Street rallies as Europe struggles

It will come as no surprise to investors to learn that the last full week of global markets trading in 2024 has started with more gains for the US while Europe struggles. The Nasdaq 100 has hit a new record high, and small caps are in demand as the final year-end hunt gets under way. This is the ‘Santa Claus Rally’ almost upon us, with most US stocks having struggled in the first half of December, a tradition as sacred as second half gains.

Political unrest beckons for Europe

Germany is now set for elections early next year, promising to throw a new ingredient into Europe’s heady brew of political instability. French shares were in ‘buy the rumour, sell the news’ mode, falling again after a brief rally following the collapse of the Barnier government. While his successor is now hard at work, the problems he faces remain intractable.