LONDON – European indexes fell on Friday, the last trading session of 2021, but were on track to log gains of 22% for the year.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.3% on Friday, Germany's DAX was up by 0.2% and France's CAC slipped 0.4%.
Markets will close at lunchtime on Friday owing to New Year's Eve celebrations. The Swiss SMI and Italy's FTSE MIB will be shut all day.
However, the FTSE and the DAX are on track to see gains of 15% for this year, while the French CAC is close to a 30% gain. The pan-European Euro Stoxx will likely see a gain of 22% for the year with banks and tech stocks outperforming, both with rallies of 34%.
Market players have spent weeks juggling concerns over new Covid restrictions and tighter central bank policy, with early studies suggesting the omicron strain of the virus is milder than previous variants like delta. New studies in South Africa and the U.K. last week suggested omicron carries a reduced risk of hospitalization and severe illness.
All sectors are set to end the year higher, although hard-hit travel stocks will only end 2021 with a rise of 4%.
On Wall Street, stock futures were mildly lower on Friday morning ahead of the final trading day of 2021. In Asia, Hong Kong stocks led gains among major markets on Friday, with Chinese tech stocks in the city soaring.
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