Europe’s major stock markets were largely unchanged on Thursday despite interest rate cuts by the eurozone and Swiss central banks. Policymakers, however, cautioned about economic and political challenges both within the region and globally.

Wall Street opened with mixed results, as the tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped a day after surpassing 20,000 points for the first time.

The Paris CAC 40 rose by 0.1% in afternoon trading, while the Frankfurt DAX remained flat, following a 25 basis-point rate cut by the European Central Bank (ECB). This was the ECB’s third consecutive rate reduction and its fourth of the year.

ECB President Christine Lagarde noted that the decision to cut rates was influenced by political “uncertainty” in both Europe and the United States. She pointed to “political situations in some member states” and mentioned the recent US presidential election won by Donald Trump. Lagarde also warned that the eurozone economy was “losing momentum” and that increasing global trade tensions could further hinder growth.

Earlier, the Swiss National Bank surprised markets with a 50 basis-point rate cut, citing slowing inflation and “uncertainty” over the potential impact of Trump’s economic policies and Europe’s political instability. As a result, the Swiss franc fell against both the dollar and the euro.

With weak growth and political crises in France and Germany, there have been growing calls for the ECB to accelerate its rate cuts. Germany is headed toward early elections in February following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government, while French President Emmanuel Macron is set to appoint a new prime minister after the government of Michel Barnier was ousted last week.

Sylvain Broyer, an economist at S&P Global Ratings, said Europe is experiencing “a real crisis of confidence” that goes beyond economic factors. “The ECB must react and speed up the pace of rate cuts, unless low confidence derails the nascent recovery and threatens price stability,” he added.

Investors are also focused on the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision next week. US inflation data released Wednesday showed a slight increase in November, reaching 2.7%. However, Thursday’s figures revealed a rise in US wholesale inflation, which could limit further rate cuts by the Fed. There are also concerns that policies proposed by Trump, including tax cuts, deregulation, and higher tariffs, could lead to renewed inflation.

Meanwhile, data showed an increase in both first-time and continuing claims for unemployment benefits, signaling a softening jobs market.

In Asia, Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks rallied, fueled by expectations that Chinese leaders would announce additional measures to support the economy, which has been struggling with weak consumer spending and a persistent property crisis. Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials were reportedly holding a Central Economic Work Conference to discuss plans for boosting growth in the coming year.

In Tokyo, stocks gained more than 1% as the yen weakened.

Key figures around 1435 GMT:

• New York – Dow: Flat at 44,157.51 points
• New York – S&P 500: +0.3% at 6,068.50
• New York – Nasdaq Composite: -0.4% at 19,949.51
• London – FTSE 100: +0.1% at 8,307.72
• Paris – CAC 40: +0.1% at 7,431.51
• Frankfurt – DAX: Flat at 20,399.68
• Tokyo – Nikkei 225: +1.2% at 39,849.14 (close)
• Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: +1.2% at 20,397.05 (close)
• Shanghai – Composite: +0.9% at 3,461.50 (close)

Currencies:

• Euro/dollar: Up at $1.0513 from $1.0498
• Pound/dollar: Down at $1.2730 from $1.2752
• Dollar/yen: Down at 152.25 yen from 152.40 yen
• Euro/pound: Up at 82.59 pence from 82.31 pence

Commodities:

• West Texas Intermediate: Down 0.6% at $69.85 per barrel
• Brent North Sea Crude: Down 0.5% at $73.17 per barrel