European shares finished higher on the last trading day of the year as investors looked ahead to 2024 hoping interest rates would be cut sooner rather than later.
The pan-regional Stoxx 600 finished 0.20% higher at 479.02 with all major bourses up. The European benchmark gained 12.7% over the year.
Markets have been making gains since the US Federal Reserve hinted two weeks ago that it could consider interest rate cuts next year. However, policy makers at the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England have made hawkish comments since then, reiterating that the fight against surging inflation is not over.
“This year was completely different than what was expected. We were expecting the US to enter recession, but the US printed around 5% growth in the Q3,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.
“We were expecting the Chinese post-Covid reopening to boost the Chinese growth and fuel global inflation, but a year…
