European shares set to end the tumultuous year lower

European shares slipped on Friday, in their last trading session of a rough year that was marked by geopolitical tensions and growing fears of a recession as central banks tightened their monetary policies globally.

The STOXX 600 fell 0.4 percent in thin holiday trading, with surging COVID-19 cases in China clouding an already uncertain global growth outlook.

The pan-regional index is on track to end the year 12.1 percent lower.

China-exposed luxury firms such as LVMH and Hermes International fell 0.7 percent and 1.4 percent.

Industrials weighed on the index, down 0.4 percent, while tech stocks fell 0.7 percent, giving up some of previous session’s sharp gains.

Rate-sensitive technology shares had rallied on Thursday, tracking gains in their Wall Street peers as U.S. unemployment data signalled that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes might be starting to dent labour market strength.