European stock markets were largely steady on Wednesday after a run of record closes, as investors paused to digest recent geopolitical events and positioned themselves ahead of a heavy schedule of U.S. economic releases.
By 09:05 GMT, the pan-European Stoxx 600 was little changed. Germany’s DAX added around 0.4%, while France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.3% and the UK’s FTSE 100 fell 0.6%.
At the company level, shares in Nestlé extended losses from the previous session after the group said it was recalling certain infant nutrition products due to a potential contamination issue.
Market participants appeared to be looking past the shockwaves from a U.S. military strike over the weekend that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Analysts suggested that, while the event was significant, financial markets were increasingly shifting their attention away from geopolitics toward upcoming macroeconomic signals from the United States.
Focus is now turning to a series of key U.S. labour market indicators. Economists expect data from payrolls processor ADP to show that private-sector employers added around 49,000 jobs in December, rebounding from a decline of 32,000 in November. Separate figures are also expected to indicate a modest dip in job openings — a measure of labour demand — to about 7.61 million in November.
The strength of the labour market has been central to recent interest rate decisions by the Federal Reserve, which cut borrowing costs several times in 2025 as policymakers prioritised supporting a softening employment backdrop over persistent inflation pressures.
Investors are also awaiting fresh data on activity in the U.S. services sector. Services account for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic output, meaning the forthcoming survey from the Institute for Supply Management could offer important clues about the state of the world’s largest economy toward the end of the fourth quarter.
Oil prices fall
Oil prices moved lower, with Brent crude futures down 0.9% at $60.18 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude falling 1.2% to $56.46.
The decline followed comments from Donald Trump, who said on Tuesday that Washington and Caracas had reached an agreement allowing Venezuela to export up to $2 billion of domestically produced crude to the United States.
Trump has previously pressed Venezuela and interim president Delcy Rodríguez to grant the U.S. and American energy companies full “access” to the country’s oil sector, warning that failure to comply could prompt further U.S. military action. In a social media post, Trump said Venezuela would be “turning over” between 30 million and 50 million barrels of “sanctioned oil” to the U.S., after exports had been largely halted since a blockade was imposed in December.
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