European shares fell on Friday after a mixed trading session in Asia, as mainland Chinese markets extended their losses for the first week of the new year. Germany’s DAX shed 0.3% to 19,967.34 and the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.

A soft finish to 2024 still left stocks with a second straight stellar year. The S&P 500 logged a 23.3% gain, which follows a 24% rise in 2023. The combined gains of more than 53% was the largest two-year percentage jump for the index since year-end 1998,

Investors head into the new year believing the economy on a firm footing. That wasn’t the case at the start of 2024, when even the most bullish analysts underestimated the strength of the market.