Frankfurt’s DAX traded slightly above the flatline around 24,305 in the final full session of the Christmas week, its highest level since November 12, with European peers mixed. On the macro front, investors will be keeping an eye on a batch of US economic data, including GDP, durable goods orders and industrial production, to gauge the Fed’s next moves. Meanwhile, attention remains on geopolitical developments. Among individual stocks, Zalando led the gains, up 1.3%, followed by Symrise (0.7%), RWE (0.7%), Vonovia (0.7%) and Airbus (0.6%). Shares of Merck and Bayer rose 0.2% each, lifted by news that Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk will be allowed to sell its weight-loss drug Wegovy in the US as a tablet starting January. On the downside, heavyweight auto stocks including Porsche Automobil (-0.4%), Volkswagen (-0.3%) and BMW (-0.3%) saw some pressure after European new car sales data showed volumes still lag pre-pandemic levels, despite recent positive momentum.
