Europe open: Shares down as Stoxx set to close year lower

European shares were lower on the final trading day of a brutal year that saw equities battered by post-pandemic inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 was down 0.38% to 428 points at 0848 GMT and is set to end the year 12.14% lower. London was set to finish the year at midday.

The year has seen Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which in turn helped to fuel post-Covid pandemic inflation, which pushed global interest rates higher, which created a cost-of-living crisis that has seen consumers struggle to pay bills, which added up to a battering for equities. The Footsie is set to post a gain for the the year of around 1.7%.

US stocks thumbed their collective nose at 2022 with a rally on Thursday as investors went bargain hunting. Crude oil prices fell as a surge of Covid cases in China exacerbated fears of global economic downturn.

There was no major corporate news to report. The UK government was still prevaricating over whether to demand negative Covid test results from an expected influx of travellers from China. The US, Italy and Japan have already imposed the requirement.