European share close at a record high

The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 0.2% higher at 610.95 points with precious metals companies Aurubis and Fresnillo among biggest sectoral gainers

European shares closed Monday’s session at a record high, although gains were small.

The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 0.2% higher at 610.95 points with precious metals companies Aurubis and Fresnillo among biggest sectoral gainers.

Germany’s DAX rose 0.6% to close at a record high and logged a 10-day winning streak, its longest since August 2024. Most other bourses ended flat.

Defence stocks added 0.5%, extending gains to seven straight sessions.

Reflecting investor nervousness, the Euro STOXX Volatility index gained 0.68 points to 16.2 – its highest in over a month.

Swissquote senior market analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said she expected investment flows to continue into European stocks.

The sectors that are going to be in focus again are going to be mining stocks due to the debasement trade rising prices of hard commodities including gold, silver, copper or any other hard commodity, she said.

In corporate news, Heineken slipped 4.1% to its lowest level in three months after the Dutch brewer announced that its CEO Dolf van den Brink will step down.

Investors weighed quarterly results from the auto sector. Porsche shares declined 6% on concerns that current estimates for the luxury carmaker’s results may be too high, while Volkswagen shed 1.3% as vehicle deliveries dropped 4.9% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Banks reversed earlier losses after Trump on Friday called for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10%, starting on January 20, but did not provide details.

A 10% ceiling on credit-card rates, roughly half today’s average interest rate, would upend the basic economics of the industry, forcing lenders to rethink how they manage risk and who they’re willing to lend to, said Hargreaves Lansdown senior equity analyst Matt Britzman.