Stock markets, dollar retreat

LONDON: European and Asia stock markets mostly fell Monday in jittery holiday trade ahead of a potentially tumultuous 2025 when Donald Trump returns to the White House.

With volumes thin, US futures were also pointing lower after losses on Friday that put paid to Wall Street’s usual holiday period ‘Santa Claus rally’.“We can’t drive major conclusions in a holiday-shortened and thin-trading-volume week, but last week´s price action looked pretty close to the narrative of rotation from tech to non-tech stocks that many investors expect to be the theme of next year,” noted Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

US tech stocks had led the losses Friday, with Elon Musk’s electric car giant Tesla shedding around 5.0 per cent and AI chipmaker Nvidia off around 2.0 per cent.Weighing on sentiment were worries about slower-than-hoped US interest rate cuts and possible higher import tariffs once Trump is inaugurated on January 20.

Tokyo closed down almost 1.0 per cent Monday, its last day of trading until January 6.Nissan fell as much as 6.7 per cent on worries about its mooted merger with fellow Japanese automaker Honda.

Overall the Nikkei 225 index gained almost 20 per cent in 2024, finally surpassing the high seen before Japan’s asset bubble burst in the 1990s.London and Frankfurt dipped in late morning deals Monday, while Paris edged up. Oil prices steadied.

In Seoul, Jeju Air shares fell as much as 15 per cent after one of its planes crashed in South Korea on Sunday, killing 179 people.Another Jeju Air flight had to return after encountering a landing gear problem on Monday, the airline said.

Korean authorities ordered an inspection of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country’s carriers.South Korea was also hit with further political turmoil, with authorities issuing an arrest warrant for suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol after his declaration of martial law.