12:14 PM EDT, 04/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed mostly lower in Thursday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.65%, the Swiss Market Index fell 0.97%, France's CAC dropped 0.93%, and Germany's DAX lost 0.91%, while the FTSE in London bucked the trend and closed 0.48% higher.

Consumer sentiment continued to recover in Germany in April, according to the most recent GfK consumer climate report released Thursday. The consumer climate indicator rose to -24.2 from -27.3 points. Although the reading hit a two-year high, it was "still at an extremely low level," the report said.

In France, the business climate in April deteriorated a little compared to March, according to the Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. INSEE's indicator gauging the business climate in the country declined to 99 from 100 the previous month.

In Switzerland, the nominal wage index rose by an average of 1.7% in 2023 compared with 2022, according to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. Based on an average annual inflation rate of 2.1%, real wages declined 0.4%.

And in corporate news, shares of UK-based mining company Anglo American surged more than 16% in Thursday trading in London after it said it was reviewing an unsolicited, non-binding all-share merger offer from rival BHP (BHP). Bloomberg, which first reported the offer, said the deal was valued at 31 billion UK pounds ($38.74 billion).

Shares of Deutsche Bank climbed 8.2% in Thursday trading in Frankfurt after it reported rising Q1 earnings and revenue that beat analyst forecasts. Deutsche Bank reported earnings of 0.69 euros ($0.74) per diluted share, up from 0.61 euros a year earlier, while analysts polled by Capital IQ expected 0.62 euros. Revenue for the quarter was 7.78 billion euros, up from 7.68 billion euros a year earlier, and ahead of the 7.69 billion euros expected by analysts surveyed by Capital IQ.

Unilever's shares closed 5.7% higher on the FTSE after the London-based consumer goods giant reported Q1 underlying sales growth of 4.4%, with volume growth increasing to 2.2%. Unilever also maintained its outlook for 2024 with underlying sales growth of 3% to 5% and a "modest improvement" in underlying operating margin.

And shares of Sanofi led the gainers on the CAC in Paris, rising more than 4.5% after it reported Q1 results Thursday that beat analyst expectations. The French pharmaceutical company reported earnings of 1.78 euros ($1.90) per share, while an analyst polled by Capital IQ expected 1.71 euros. Net sales for the quarter were 10.46 million euros, while analysts polled by Capital IQ expected 10.21 million euros.

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