LIVE MARKETS-Before the bell: Europe mixed as strong year wraps up

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BEFORE THE BELL: EUROPE MIXED AS STRONG YEAR WRAPS UP

European shares were set for a broadly steady start near record highs on Tuesday, the region’s last full trading session, showing little concern over volatility in precious metals or complications in Ukraine peace talks.

EuroSTOXX .STOXX50E and DAX .GDAXI futures were down about 0.2%, while FTSE 100 .FTSE contracts added 0.1% as silver prices sought to stabilise.

This is the last trading day for many European exchanges including Frankfurt, Milan, Zurich and the Nordics, while London, Paris and Madrid will trade for a half day on Wednesday.

The STOXX 600 .STOXX is set to end 2025 with a surge of around 16%, its biggest annual gain since 2021.

Meanwhile, gold XAU= and silver XAG= rose about 1% and 3% after plunging from fresh record highs. Shares in Asia were broadly steady, while Wall Street futures eased around 0.2%.

Broker activity and corporate news was thin, while on the macro front, eyes are on the Fed which will release the minutes of its December meeting later in the day.

Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO and Eli Lilly LLY.N are cutting prices of their top-selling obesity drugs in China, according to the Danish drugmaker and Chinese drug suppliers.

(Danilo Masoni)