Mining stocks jump as precious metals recover; European shares hit record as 2025 draws to a close

European stocks picked up steam on Tuesday, extending gains to notch a fresh record high.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally closed 0.7% higher, having earlier broken through 590 points to hit a new record.

The U.K.’s FTSE, France’s CAC 40, and Germany’s DAX all ended the session more than 0.6% higher, while Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 1.2%.

Mining stocks were the top performers, with London-listed Fresnillo gaining 6%. Peer miners Anglo American, Antofagasta, and Glencore rose around 3%, respectively.

Precious metals, notably gold and silver, were firmly in focus for investors during the holiday-shortened trading week.

Spot gold futures were last seen up 0.8% at $4,366 an ounce while silver jumped 5.5% to $76.22 an ounce. Silver was on a rollercoaster ride Monday, hitting a record in the early morning hours, before paring gains and logging its worst day since 2021.

Defense stocks were also doing well Tuesday, following Monday’s losses, which were prompted by weekend peace talks between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Renk and Rheinmetall rose about 2% each.

Regional bourses closed mixed on Monday, with defense stocks struggling as talks continue to agree on a framework peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine.

Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell overnight after the tech sell-off on Wall Street continued on Monday amid artificial intelligence bubble fears.

U.S. stocks pulled back on Tuesday, dragged lower by further declines in AI darling Nvidia and home improvement stock Home Depot.

There were no major earnings or data releases in Europe on Tuesday.

— CNBC’s Lim Hui Jie and Sarah Min contributed to this market report.