12:14 PM EDT, 04/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed mixed in Friday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.11%, the Swiss Market Index was up 0.59%, France's CAC was off 0.01%, the FTSE in London rose 0.24%, and Germany's DAX closed 0.53% lower.

In the UK, retail sales volumes were flat in March after rising 0.1% in February, according to the Office for National Statistics. On a quarterly basis, sales volumes increased 1.9% in the three months to March, compared with the previous three-month period.

In Germany, producer prices of commercial products rose 0.2% in March from February but were down 2.9% from a year earlier, according to the Federal Statistical Office. The decline in annual producer prices was mainly attributed to a drop in energy prices in March.

In Italy, construction output decreased an estimated 3.9% in February from the previous month, according to the Italian National Institute for Statistics. In the three months to February, the seasonally adjusted index of production in construction grew 3.6% compared with the previous three-month period. On an annual basis, the calendar adjusted index increased 5.9%.

And in corporate news, UK packaging and paper company Mondi said Friday that it has decided against bidding against International Paper (IP) and won't make an offer to acquire competitor DS Smith. On Tuesday, International Paper said it reached a deal to acquire DS Smith in a stock deal worth about $9.9 billion.

"Following a period of due diligence, and after carefully considering the value the combination with DS Smith would deliver to Mondi's shareholders, the Mondi Board has decided that the transaction would not be in the best interests of its shareholders," the company said in a statement.

Shares of Mondi led the FTSE higher, rising more than 9%, while DS Smith led the decliners in London closing more than 10% lower.

Consumer goods giant Unilever is planning to tamp down some of its environmental and social pledges, according to Bloomberg. For example, the company is lowering its target to cut its use of virgin plastics in half by 2025 to a 30% reduction by 2026, Bloomberg reported. Unilever shares were up 1.1% on the FTSE.

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