12:24 PM EDT, 07/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed mostly lower in Thursday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.72%, the Swiss Market Index fell 0.80%, France's CAC dropped 1.15%, the FTSE in London was up 0.40%, and Germany's DAX was off 0.45%.

In Germany, the ifo Business Climate Index declined to 87.0 points in July from 88.6 points in June, as companies said they were less satisfied with the current business situation.

"Skepticism regarding the coming months has increased considerably," the ifo said. "The German economy is stuck in crisis."

In France, the business climate continues to decline, falling to 99 in July from June's 100, which is the index's long-term average. It is the first time the index has fallen below the 100 threshold in four years.

In the UK, optimism among manufacturers declined slightly in July, according to the CBI's quarterly Industrial Trends Survey released Thursday.

"Sentiment among manufacturers has cooled a little over the past few months, as output growth consistently underperformed expectations," Ben Jones, CBI's lead economist said in a statement. "But the near-term outlook for the sector remains positive amid an ongoing recovery in the wider UK economy."

And in corporate news, shares of STMicroelectronics tumbled nearly 14% in Paris in Thursday's trading session after it reported lower fiscal Q2 earnings and revenue. Revenue for the Swiss electronics and semiconductor company also missed analyst forecasts.

Stellantis reported H1 adjusted earnings Thursday of 2.36 euros ($2.56) per diluted share, down from 3.61 euros a year earlier. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expected 2.28 euros. Net revenue for the first half of 2024 was 85.02 billion euros, compared with 98.37 billion euros a year earlier, while analysts expected 86.82 billion euros. Shares of the European automaker closed nearly 9% lower in Paris.

Unilever shares rose more than 6% in London after it reported Q2 underlying sales growth of 3.9%, with volume growth also increasing. The British consumer goods giant maintained its outlook for 2024 with underlying sales growth of 3% to 5% and an underlying operating margin of at least 18%.

And British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca reported higher Q2 earnings and revenue Thursday; however, its shares fell 1.3% in London after EPS came in below analyst expectations.

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