European stocks finish off worst year since 2018 with a loss

Equity markets around the world took a shellacking in 2022, and Europe was no exception. As soaring energy prices precipitated by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine rattled economies across Europe, their stocks suffered — although not quite as much as their counterparts in the U.S. thanks to a slightly less-aggressive approach to monetary policy tightening by the European Central Bank, analysts said. As a result, the European Stoxx 600, a closely followed benchmark of large-cap stocks denominated in euros, finished 2022 on Friday with a year-to-date loss of more than 12%, its worst percentage-point decline for a calendar year since 2018, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The gauge shed 1.3% to finish Friday in the red at 424.85. The European index also snapped a two-month winning streak in December. The euro, meanwhile, is on track to close out 2022 with a loss of roughly 6% against the U.S. dollar, bringing its two-year decline to more than 12%, the longest two-year losing streak for the shared currency since 2016, according to DJMD.