European Stocks Cut Gains, Novo Nordisk Tumbles

2025-11-24 12:10 By Joana Taborda 1 min. read

Major European bourses failed to hold early gains, with both the STOXX 50 and STOXX 600 slipping nearly 0.2%.

Novo Nordisk shares tumbled more than 8% after the company announced that a pill version of Ozempic failed to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in a large trial.

Defence stocks also came under heavy pressure, with Rheinmetall (-4.2%), Leonardo (-2%) and BAE Systems (-1.9%) falling sharply after US and Ukrainian officials reported progress in talks aimed at ending the war with Russia.

In contrast, Bayer surged more than 10% after encouraging results from its anticoagulant Asundexian study, making it one of the session’s standout performers.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Ifo Business Climate Index weakened in November, underscoring firms’ pessimism about the near-term economic outlook.

Attention in Europe also focused on today’s meeting between US officials and EU ministers in Brussels, expected to be a “frank” exchange on the bloc’s strained trade relationship with Washington.



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