European markets dip slightly after fifth straight week of gains

LONDON — European markets were slightly lower on Monday to start the penultimate week of 2023.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.2% in early trade, with construction and material stocks shedding 1.1% to lead losses while oil and gas stocks added 0.9%.

The continental blue chip index closed out a fifth straight winning week on Friday, up 0.91% on the day after a slew of major central bank decisions throughout the week.

Global markets were particularly buoyed by the U.S. Federal Reserve penciling in three cuts to interest rates over the course of 2024.

Shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly lower on Monday, though South Korean markets bucked the trend as defense stocks led gains.

U.S. stock futures climbed cautiously in early premarket trade, after the three major Wall Street averages notched a seventh consecutive week of gains.

Back in Europe, two prominent European Central Bank voting members — Isabel Schnabel and Philip Lane — are due to deliver speeches Monday afternoon.

The ECB last week held rates, as it revised down its growth and inflation forecasts and announced plans to speed up shrinking its balance sheet. President Christine Lagarde also pushed back against market expectations of substantial rate cuts in 2024.