dpa
Brussels
European stocks posted marginal gains in the shortened trading session on Tuesday, with investors mostly staying away on the sidelines ahead of Christmas holidays. Some major markets in the region remained shut for Christmas Eve.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed higher by 0.21 percent. The UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.42 percent and France’s CAC 40 edged up 0.14 percent. Markets in Germany and Switzerland were closed for Christmas Eve.
Among other markets in Europe, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain ended higher. Russia and Turkey closed weak. The markets in Sweden, Poland, Norway, Iceland, Greece, Finland, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Austria remained shut.
Markets in the UK, Germany, Spain, France, and Switzerland will remain shut on Wednesday and Thursday for Christmas holidays.
In the UK market, Airtel Africa rallied nearly 4 percent. Pershing Square Holdings, Anglo American, Vodafone Group, Melrose Industries, Croda International, DS Smith, ICG, Spirax Group, Whitbread, Auto Trader Group, Land Securities, Centrica, Diploma, Sainsbury, Next, and Standard Chartered gained 1 percent to 2.3 percent.
Persimmon closed down 2.39 percent. Entain ended lower by 1.25 percent. Endeavour Mining, Ashtead Group, BT Group, and Barratt Developments closed modestly lower.
Vistry Group slumped 16 percent as the housebuilder issued its third profit warning of the year, citing delays to expected year-end transactions and completions.
In the French market, STMicroElectronics gained about 2.3 percent. Eurofins Scientific, Teleperformance, Edenred, Renault, Unibail-Rodamco, Dassault Systèmes, Carrefour, and Vivendi closed up 1 percent to 2 percent.