European stocks mixed in holiday-thinned trade; FTSE up; Marks & Spencer rises 1.8%

LONDON – European stocks were mixed Wednesday as holiday-thinned trading continued in the region.

The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 index was flat by mid-afternoon after a higher open. British and Irish markets reopened after the Christmas holiday period and the FTSE 100 was up 0.8%, playing catchup with other indexes in the region.

Global investors are looking for a Santa Claus rally to close out a year in which the S&P 500 has rallied more than 27%. The benchmark index historically gains during the Santa Claus rally — the final five trading days of the current year and the first two of the new year. The period began Monday.

U.S. stock futures were flat on Wednesday morning following a mixed session on Tuesday. Market players have spent recent weeks juggling concerns over new Covid restrictions and tighter central bank policy with early studies suggesting omicron strain of the virus is milder than previous variants like delta. New studies in South Africa and the U.K. last week suggested omicron has a reduced risk of hospitalization and severe illness.

In the U.K. at the start of this week, infections were still topping 100,000, while France has also reported cases above that figure for the first time. France reported a record high of 179,807 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday.

In individual stocks news, it was the media and retail sectors that were notably higher. Marks & Spencer, Games Workshop, Dr. Martens and Bellway were just some of the U.K. stocks at the top of the Euro Stoxx 600.