European shares close higher as global stock markets hover near record highs (2024)

A TV presenter gets ready for the daily reporting from the floor of the German share price index DAX at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, November 15, 2023.

Staff | Reuters

The Federal Reserve could wait to cut interest rates until the second quarter of 2024, Thanos Papasavvas, ABP Invest founder and CIO, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Wednesday.

"We don't think that they will rush to cut rates by March, we think it's most likely to happen in May," he said, adding that policymakers may wait to see how economic data points such as the unemployment rate develop.

Rates may also be cut by less than markets are currently expecting next year, Papasavvas said.

"We don't see 150 basis points of rate cuts in twelve months time," he noted.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Investors can be more optimistic about the outlook for next year and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy expectations, Shelby McFaddin, investment analyst at Motley Fool Asset Management, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Wednesday.

"We've got a bit more confirmation on the strength of consumer activity and health of the consumer through the end of December that's given, I think, investors a little bit more confidence that they can go ahead and just be a little bit more optimistic through the end of the year and about the Fed's intentions," she said.

However, companies looking for equity investments will still be in "a slightly tougher environment," McFaddin said. This is due to interest rates still being higher even when the Fed begins to cut them, and other factors such as the long-term impact of strikes, she explained.

— Sophie Kiderlin

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index climbed 0.4% around 40 minutes into the session, after an uncertain open. Oil and gas stocks added 1% to lead gains as most sectors and major bourses entered positive territory.

The European blue chip index traded around the 479.5 mark, not far below the index's record closing high of 483.44 notched in November 2021.

Vestas shares climbed more than 6% in early trade after the Danish wind turbine maker won a substantial new order in Australia, set to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The momentum spread to other wind firms, with Siemens Energy up 4.8%.

Near the bottom of the Stoxx 600, shares of Danish shipping giant Maersk fell 4%.

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The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was little changed in early trade. Tech stocks added 0.6% to lead gains while insurance shares fell 0.4%.

The European blue chip index remained around the 477.6 mark, up 12.41% on the year and not far below the index's record closing high of 483.44 notched in November 2021.

- Elliot Smith

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