Europe bulletin: UK stocks pullback, Ukraine talks stall, Germany jobs data signals fragility
European markets and policymakers hit a moment of reassessment as risk appetite fades and geopolitics intrude.
The FTSE 100 retreats from record highs amid an energy-led selloff, while investors rotate defensively.
At the same time, Washington’s assertive foreign policy, spanning Venezuela, Greenland, and Ukraine, is unsettling European capitals.
Beneath the surface, Germany’s labour data offers limited reassurance, underscoring a fragile economic backdrop as 2026 approaches.
FTSE 100 pullback as oil deal pressures energy sector
The FTSE 100 gave back some steam on Wednesday, slipping 0.5% after a four-session rally that pushed the blue-chip index to 10,000 for the first time ever.
Investors quickly pivoted to safer bets, utilities and real estate stocks, as they digested Trump’s announcement that Venezuela would export $2 billion in crude to the US.
Oil prices tumbled on the news, dragging BP and Shell down 2.9% and 2.2% respectively.
Energy stocks across the index fell 2.5% collectively. Miners took a beating too, with the FTSE 350 precious metals index down 2.4% after gold slipped over 1%.
Despite the retreat, the mid-cap FTSE 250 remained flat, and small-cap valuations continue attracting strategists eyeing solid earnings growth ahead, even as the broader momentum paused.
Europe’s defensive posture as Trump escalates Greenland rhetoric
France is rallying European allies to develop a coordinated response plan should Trump attempt to seize Greenland.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot warned diplomacy must lead the charge, saying “we want to do so together with our European partners.”
However, the messaging is mixed; Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers the US would attempt a purchase rather than military intervention, yet White House officials won’t rule out using force.
Denmark and Greenland are demanding an urgent sit-down with Rubio to “add nuance” to talks.
Meanwhile, the Venezuela precedent, where US forces captured a foreign leader days earlier, has rattled Europe.
Former French Premier Dominique de Villepin called any Greenland attack “a red line.”
Ukraine stakes its claim on Donetsk and nuclear plant control
US and Ukrainian delegations reconvene in Paris to tackle two intractable issues: territorial concessions and control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility held by Russia since 2022.
Zelenskyy made clear Wednesday that Kyiv won’t budge easily, the Trump envoy team floated “land options,” but three-quarters of Ukrainians oppose ceding territory, even if a ceasefire freezes the front lines.
The US proposed a trilateral plant operation with American oversight, a non-starter for Kyiv, which instead demands joint Ukrainian-American management with Washington controlling 50% of energy output.
Ukraine’s resistance stems from survival logic: the plant supplied 25% of pre-war electricity and powers reconstruction, handing it to Russia or international committees risks energy blackmail.
Germany’s labor market shows modest resilience
Germany’s unemployment gained 3,000 in December, falling short of the 5,000 forecast by analysts, with the seasonally adjusted jobless rate holding steady at 6.3%.
The positive surprise offers slim comfort in a grim year: 2025 saw 2.95 million unemployed, the highest annual average since 2013, with the jobless rate climbing 0.3 percentage points to 6.3%, marking the third straight yearly increase.
Manufacturing bore the brunt, shedding 120,000 jobs through Q3 while auto workers faced the sharpest cuts, down 49,000.
Job vacancies plummeted to 619,000 in December, the lowest in 25 years, signaling weak business appetite for hiring.
Labor Office chief Andrea Nahles tempered expectations: “2026 is not a year of all-clear, but a year with noticeable challenges.”
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