Europe stocks rise; Euro climbs against U.S. dollar; Shell, Equinor announce joint UK venture

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— Sam Meredith

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority on Monday approved the merger of telecom firms Vodafone and Three.

The CMA set several conditions for the £15 billion ($19.5 billion) deal, including that the companies commit to investing billions to roll out a combined 5G network across the U.K. 

The organization had previously raised concerns the combined entity would lead to price increases for tens of millions of customers or see some users get reduced services.

Read the full story here.

— Jenni Reid

The price of bitcoin soared past the long-awaited $100,000 benchmark for the first time ever late Wednesday evening.

The flagship cryptocurrency was last higher by more than 7% at $102,879.60, according to Coin Metrics. Earlier, it rose as high as $103,844.05.

The move came hours after President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to nominate Paul Atkins as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The same day, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said bitcoin was “just like gold only it’s virtual, it’s digital,” speaking at the DealBook conference.

For more on bitcoin’s historic milestone read our full story here.

— Tanaya Macheel

The persistent uncertainty in financial markets has raised questions on portfolio construction and how to invest across asset classes as 2025 nears.

One long-term investor is now playing the market by staying invested and being well-diversified.

“We believe it is key to remain invested and view any potential corrections as technical and temporary opportunities to get into the market,” Julius Baer International’s portfolio manager Aneka Beneby said.

She also revealed how and what she is allocating to in the lead up to the new year.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amala Balakrishner

European markets are expected to open lower Thursday.

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 17 points lower at 8,342, Germany’s DAX down 7 points at 20,225, France’s CAC down 28 points at 7,275 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 82 points at 33,747, according to data from IG.

There are no major earnings or data releases in Europe Thursday.

— Holly Ellyatt