LIVE MARKETS-Before the bell: Europe wraps up 2025 on a high

Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com

BEFORE THE BELL: EUROPE WRAPS UP 2025 ON A HIGH

With most European exchanges already shut for the New Year break and the rest open for just half a day, no major moves were expected on Wednesday after a strong session on Tuesday that lifted many indexes to fresh peaks.

The STOXX 600 .STOXX made a new lifetime high on Tuesday , driven by strength in banks - this year's winning trade in Europe - and miners, boosted by the recent frenzy around metals. The region-wide index is up close to 17% this year, marking its strongest annual performance since 2021.

Banks .SX7P have been the standout gainers, up over 67%, followed by Basic Resources .SXDP, charged by the recent spike in gold, silver and other metal prices, and Utilities .SX6P, , supported by a surge in power demand linked to data centres and broader electrification trends.

Frankfurt, Zurich and Milan are closed for the holiday, while London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and Madrid will trade for half a session. Full trading resumes on Jan. 2.

FTSE .FTSE futures, meanwhile, fell 0.2% after Tuesday's surge to a record high, which pushed annual gains to nearly 22%. Other European futures were inactive, while U.S. index contracts were also a touch lower.

Attention in global markets remained on metals with silver's astonishing rally taking its yearly gains to over 160% although the metal XAG= was last 5% lower as traders took profits.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting showed policymakers agreed to cut interest rates only after a nuanced debate over risks to the U.S. economy.

Corporate news was thin, though M&A stayed active amid a bumper year for global dealmaking. A source said Warner Bros WBD.O will likely reject Paramount Skydance's PSKY.O amended $108.4 billion hostile bid for the storied Hollywood studio.

(Danilo Masoni)