Europe’s Stoxx 600 clocked its second straight weekly fall on Friday (Dec 20), with the healthcare sector leading losses after Danish firm Novo Nordisk tumbled on disappointing data from its next generation obesity drug trial.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.9 per cent lower, paring some losses after falling as much as 2 per cent during the session, clocking a near 2 per cent drop for the week, its worst week since early September.
Novo Nordisk plunged 20.8 per cent after the Danish drugmaker revealed disappointing results in a late-stage trial for its experimental next-generation obesity drug CagriSema, wiping as much as US$125 billion off its market value.
The broader healthcare sub-sector dropped 4 per cent, while the Danish benchmark tumbled 13.2 per cent to its weakest close since August 2023.
While most Stoxx sub-sectors fell, real estate was a rare bright spot with a 1.4 per cent advance.
Further dampening sentiment, US president-elect Donald Trump said the European Union must purchase US oil and gas to make up for its “tremendous deficit” with the world’s largest economy, or face tariffs.
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“Trump’s deeply flawed understanding of trade balances and drivers is being applied once again and to a degree this kind of thing was expected by the EU and others,” Scotiabank analysts wrote in a note.
The European Commission said it was ready to discuss with Trump how to strengthen what it described as an already strong relationship, including in the energy sector.
“Investors had already begun pricing in the potential risk, but the president-elect’s comments today will have focused minds,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
Britain’s FTSE 100 posted a relatively smaller decline, down 0.3 per cent. Data showed British retail sales rose by a weaker-than-expected 0.2 per cent in November, adding to signs of slow momentum in the economy.
European stocks tumbled on Thursday after the Federal Reserve projected fewer interest rate cuts in 2025 and higher inflation, halting a stunning rally in US and European stocks that were supported by hopes of easing monetary policy.
On the day, data showed US consumer spending increased in November, underscoring the economy’s resilience.
The Stoxx 600 is up nearly 6 per cent so far this year compared with a 25 per cent surge in the US benchmark S&P 500.
Idorsia tumbled 50.4 per cent after the Swiss biopharma company said exclusive talks for global rights to hypertension medication Tryvio had stalled.
Zealand Pharma dropped 3.8 per cent after the US FDA declined to approve the Danish biotech group’s bowel disease drug. REUTERS
