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Investing.com – European stock markets – or at least the ones open for trading – opened lower on Friday morning.
As of 9:30 am CET (830 GMT), the CAC 40 traded .2% lower while the FTSE 100 traded down .4%. The AEX was down .1%.
Most other major European markets are closed in observance of New Year’s Day tomorrow, while these markets will close early in observance of the holiday.
In corporate news, Hunter Douglas NV (AS:HUDN) shares rose 69% on the heels of an announcement that 3G Capital would buy the windows coverings maker for €175/share. 888 Holdings (LON:888) updated on its plans to acquire William Hill’s non U.S. business, saying it expects to publish its prospectus for the deal in Q2 2022, and hold a shareholder vote and close the merger afterwards but also in Q2.
Renault SA (PA:RENA) was the leading winner on the CAC 40, up .5% in early trading, while Alstom SA (PA:ALSO) led to the downside, down 1.2%. In the U.K., Flutter Entertainment PLC (LON:FLTRF) opened down 2%, while Fresnillo PLC (LON:FRES) was up 1.3%.
On the commodities front, Crude Oil WTI Futures and Brent Oil Futures were both down about .3%, while Gold Futures were pointed up .25%. Even that leaves oil on track for its best year since 2009, and gold with its worst in the last six.
Bitcoin traded 3% higher and Ethereum 2.4% higher, leaving the cryptocurrencies poised for a strong finish to a big year.
(Samuel Indyk contributed to this article).
