12:08 PM EDT, 04/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed mixed in Friday trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.14%, the Swiss Market Index lost 0.75%, France's CAC was off 0.16%, the FTSE in London rose 0.91%, and Germany's DAX was down 0.13%.
In Germany, the consumer price index was 2.2% in March, down from 2.5% in February and 2.9% in January, according to the Federal Statistical Office, which said it was the lowest inflation rate since May 2021.
In the UK, monthly real gross domestic product grew an estimated 0.1% in February, after increasing 0.3% in January, according to the Office for National Statistics.
In France, the CPI increased 0.2% in March, after rising 0.9% in February, according to the Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. Over a year, the CPI rose 2.3% in March after increasing 3.0% in February. This decrease in inflation was attributed to a slowdown in the prices of food, services, energy, and manufactured products.
In Spain, the CPI rose 0.8% in March on a monthly basis, and rose 3.2% on a yearly basis, according to the Spanish Statistical Institute.
And in corporate news, Novo Nordisk's (NVO) popular diabetes and weight-loss medicines Wegovy and Ozempic have no added risk of suicide, a European Medicines Agency risk assessment committee said Friday. The EMA said that after investigating reports linking the drugs to suicidal thoughts, it said it found no evidence to support a causal link between the medicines and self-harm thoughts and actions.
Oil and gas stocks rallied on sharply rising oil prices Friday as BP and Shell climbed 3.7% and 2.8% higher, respectively, on the FTSE in London, while petroleum company TotalEnergies gained 2.1% in Paris, and Italian oil and gas company Eni rose nearly 3% in Milan.
Mining stocks were on the rise in London, as Fresnillo and Glencore rose 7.6% and 5.1%, respectively, followed by Endeavour Mining and Anglo America, which climbed 4.8% and 3.7% respectively, while Rio Tinto and Antofagasta gained 2.8% and 2.2%.
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