The columns of Royal Exchange are dressed for Christmas, at Bank in the City of London, the capital’s financial district, on 20th November 2024, in London, England.
This is CNBC's live blog covering European markets.
European markets edged higher on Monday as a shortened trading week began in the run-up to Christmas.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.3% by the early afternoon, with most sectors in positive territory.
Trading is expected to be relatively muted in the run-up to Christmas, with European markets set to be closed, or close early, for Christmas Eve and remain shut on Christmas Day.
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Overnight, Asia-Pacific markets started the week on a positive note, with investors digesting a press conference relating to the merger of Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan.
The carmakers confirmed on Monday that they had begun merger talks. Shares of France's Renault, which owns a minority stake in Nissan, were around 0.3% lower at 12:17 p.m. London time.
Back in Europe, revised figures showed the U.K. economy flatlined in the third quarter of the year, with GDP growing 0% in the three months to September.
Money Report
Aviva, Direct Line to cut up to 7% of workforce
British insurer Aviva said that after acquiring rival Direct Line the companies' combined workforce would be reduced by up to 7%.
Job cuts would be mitigated by existing job openings as well as "natural attrition," the company said in a statement on Monday. Aviva turned over around 1,300 employees in the U.K. in 2024, the company noted.
— Chloe Taylor
Ukraine economy grew 2% in third quarter, authorities say
The Ukrainian economy grew 2% year-on-year in the three months to September, according to a Google-translated flash estimate published by the country's Statistics Agency on Monday. Real GDP was also up by 0.2% from the previous quarter, the figures showed.
Ukraine's GDP growth has stabilized over the course of the year, according to the agency's data, after recovering from a downturn triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion.
— Chloe Taylor
Volkswagen shares fall
Shares of German autos giant Volkswagen dropped on Monday, trading down around 3% at 1 p.m. London time.
Investors were reacting to a deal reached between the company and its striking German workers on Friday, terms of which included cutting 35,000 jobs by 2030 and slashing production capacity to reduce costs.
— Chloe Taylor
Evolution shares tank
Shares of Swedish online gambling firm Evolution sank to the bottom of the Stoxx 600 on Monday, with the stock down 10.7% at 12:06 p.m. London time.
Evolution said late on Friday it had been placed under review by the U.K. Gambling Commission, after the regulator discovered the company's games were accessible in Britain through unlicensed operators.
The company said the review may have various outcomes, ranging from no action being taken to Evolution having its license to operate revoked. It also noted in its statement that around 3% of its revenue is from the U.K. market.
— Chloe Taylor
Novo Nordisk shares recover some ground after Friday plunge
Shares of Danish pharmaceuticals giant Novo Nordisk recovered some ground after weaker-than-expected results for its experimental CagriSema weight loss drug led to a sweeping selloff on Friday.
The company's Danish-listed stock was up 8.44% at 11:46 a.m. London time, with its U.S.-listed shares rising almost 5% in premarket trading.
It comes after shares fell over 20% on Friday.
— Ruxandra Iordache
UK borrowing costs rise
Yields on British 10-year gilts crept higher on Monday, gaining 2 basis points to trade at 4.532% by 10:46 a.m. London time.
It came after revised GDP figures showed the U.K. economy flatlined in the three months to September.
U.K. borrowing costs hit a one-year high last week, but have since retreated from those levels.
— Chloe Taylor
Aviva agrees deal to buy Direct Line in $4.7 billion deal
British insurer Aviva has reached an agreement to buy competitor Direct Line, the companies announced Monday.
The cash and share offer will compensate Direct Line shareholders with 0.2867 Aviva shares for each Direct Line share held, as well as 129.7 pence ($1.63) in cash and up to 5 pence in dividends.
The companies said the agreement valued Direct Line's entire diluted share capital at around £3.7 billion ($4.65 billion), based on Aviva stock's closing price on Nov. 27.
Aviva's London-listed shares were 0.3% higher at 10 a.m. London time, while shares of Direct Line gained 3%.
— Chloe Taylor
UK economy stalled in the third quarter
Britain's economy failed to achieve any growth in the three months to September, revised figures from the U.K.'s Office for National Statistics showed on Monday.
A preliminary estimate for the third quarter, published by the ONS last month, said U.K. GDP grew at 0.1% during the period. However, the final data released on Monday showed 0% GDP growth from the previous quarter.
Earlier this month, data from the ONS showed the U.K. economy had unexpectedly contracted in October.
— Chloe Taylor
Honda, Nissan schedule press conference amid merger reports
Vehicle making giants Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi have scheduled a joint press conference for 8 a.m. London time on Monday, amid rumors that Honda and Nissan are set to begin merger negotiations.
Reports of a potential tie-up first emerged last week, boosting shares of French carmaker Renault, which owns a minority stake in Nissan. Mitsubishi is an existing partner of Renault and Nissan.
— Chloe Taylor
CNBC Pro: 'The next Nvidia': Broadcom is the AI chip stock to own in 2025, investor says
Broadcom is more likely to deliver big gains for investors in 2025 than AI chip leader Nvidia, according to fund manager Stephen Yiu.
Yiu, portfolio manager of the Blue Whale Growth Fund, said that while Big Tech giants, such as Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Meta Platforms, had bought up Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs) in vast quantities, they were now also developing their own custom chips for artificial intelligence applications in an effort to diversify.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
European markets: Here are the opening calls
European markets are expected to open higher Monday.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 8 points higher at 8,098, Germany's DAX up 12 points at 19,919, France's CAC up 7 points at 7,291 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 76 points at 34,031, according to data from IG.
Data releases include final U.K. and Spanish economic growth data.
— Holly Ellyatt
