Europe midday: Shares slip back from record; Novo Nordisk in focus

(Sharecast News) - European shares hit fell back off record intra-day highs hit in the morning session on Tuesday, as traders geared up for the Christmas break. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.17% to 587.75 - having hit a new high of 588.62 - at 1202 GMT with major bourses mixed.

Major US indices closed higher on Monday in quiet pre‑holiday trade ahead of this week's Christmas break.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.47% at 48,362.68, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.64% to 6,878.49 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.52% firmer at 23,428.83.

The Dow closed 227.29 points higher on Monday, extending gains recorded in the previous session.

Tech was again at the centre of attention on Monday, as investors continued to rotate back into growth names after last week's softer inflation data helped revive hopes of a year‑end "Santa Claus rally". Sentiment was also supported by strength in major tech movers, with chipmakers Nvidia and Micron Technology both closing higher.

"European stock markets appear to have entered a period of consolidation as we head into the final trading days of 2025. Nonetheless with the Santa rally period traditionally taking place over the final five days of the year investors will be hoping that the bulls are gathering momentum for a final push tomorrow onwards," said Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony.

"With data relatively thin on the ground in Europe, the focus will instead be on the US given the impending release of GDP, core durable goods, and consumer confidence figure."

In European equity news, shares in Novo Nordisk jumped after the Wegovy-maker received US approval for the first-ever GLP-1 pill to treat obesity.

The US Food and Drug Administration's approval handed drugmaker Novo Nordisk an edge over rival Eli Lilly in the race to market an obesity pill. Lilly's rival treatment, orforglipron, is still under review.

Ryanair shares were down in Dublin after the budget carrier was hammered with a €255.7m fine by Italy's competition authority for abusing its dominant position in its dealings with travel agents.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com