Europe midday: Shares slip into the red ahead of Xmas break

(Sharecast News) - European shares fell away from intra-day highs at the start of the shortened Christmas week as gold and silver prices hit record highs, while eyes were also on revised UK GDP figures.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was down 0.20% to 586.34 at 1155 GMT having hit 587.84 in opening trades.

In the UK, the FTSE 100 was down 0.48% after official data showed the economy grew by 0.1% in the three months to September, in line with flash estimates.

Growth in the second quarter was revised down to 0.2% from a previous estimate of 0.3%, the Office for National Statistics added.

Miners were in focus as gold and silver prices hit a new record high, with the yellow metal breaking through $4,400 to $4,417.53 per ounce.

Silver was up 3% to a record high of $69.14 per ounce. The news sent shares in Glencore and Fresnillo higher.

"A mix of political tension, shifting central bank policy, and concerns about the long-term health of the global economy pushed gold firmly back into the limelight," said Kate Marshall, lead investment analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"In addition, central bank buying - particularly from emerging markets - has remained robust, helping to underpin prices. For miners and precious metals funds, this has translated into strong earnings momentum and investor interest, especially at a time when parts of the equity market have been dominated by a narrow group of mega-cap growth stocks."

"Looking ahead, Goldman Sachs estimates that central banks will target around 20% of reserves in the precious metal, and China is currently at around 8%, which - alongside continued geopolitical uncertainty - should prop up the gold price, though we don't expect the returns of this year, or last, to follow in 2026."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com