The DAX, still at a 12 month peak, slipped 0.1% after the bell, while the CAC barely budged; the euro was similarly sluggish, failing to improve on the $1.06 level if fell to yesterday, though it did take 0.2% back off the pound. There isn’t really much to move the Eurozone indices this Friday – the most prominent catalyst for change would be news on Italian banking situation, but given that the country asked the ECB to give it until January to work out what to do with Monte dei Paschi that may not be forthcoming.
The FTSE was just as slow as its Eurozone peers this morning. However, its mild 10 point increase has the UK index at its best price since November and, if a proper Santa rally is to materialise in the next fortnight, it could well re-cross the 7000 mark before the year is over.