European stocks closed higher on Thursday, on the back of positive momentum throughout the week.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.44% higher, with major European bourses following suit. The FTSE 100 added 0.23%, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.74%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.7% and Italy’s MIB ended the day 0.72% higher.
Puma shares ended the day down around 23% after it missed full-year 2024 profit expectations and revealed plans to cut costs on Wednesday.
Analysts at broker Metzler downgraded the stock to “hold” after the results, which showed that net income came in at 282 million euros ($293.2 million) for 2024, a decline of 7.5% from last year.
It’s in stark contrast to competitor Adidas which reported 19% growth on forth-quarter top line figures earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, one of the U.K.’s largest supermarket chains Sainsbury’s has proposed to cut its headcount by about 3,000 roles due to a “particularly challenging cost environment”. It currently employs 148,000 people in the country.
Elsewhere, investors tuned in to President Donald Trump’s keynote address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He addressed a range of topics including interest rates, taking a stab at the U.S. Federal reserve by saying he would “demand that interest rates drop immediately,” and also spoke on the relationship between the U.S. and the European Union.
Trump said he would ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to reduce oil prices, prompting crude oil futures to fall.
