12:12 PM EST, 02/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed mostly higher in Wednesday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.36%, Germany's DAX 40 was up 0.22%, the FTSE 100 in London rose 0.61%, France's CAC 40 was off 0.19%, and the Swiss Market Index increased 0.83%.

Industrial producer prices increased 0.4% in both the euro area and the EU in December compared with November, according to preliminary estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU. Compared with a year earlier, industrial producer prices remained flat in the euro area and increased 0.1% in the EU.

Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted HCOB Eurozone Composite PMI rose to 50.2 in January from 49.6 in December, moving above the 50-point threshold separating growth and expansion. S&P Global, which releases the index, said it was the first monthly increase in private sector business activity since August.

In the UK, the S&P Global UK Services PMI Business Activity Index declined to 50.8 in January from 51.1 in December, which was the lowest reading in 15 months. S&P said the reading was also well below the pre-pandemic average.

And in corporate news, French oil and gas company TotalEnergies' Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said Wednesday that Europe should renege in talks with the US with the aim of securing a free-trade guarantee for liquefied natural gas, Reuters reported.

Novo Nordisk Wednesday defended its experimental obesity therapy, CagriSema, after phase 3 trial data published in December disappointed investors. The data showed at the time that CagriSema met the trial's primary endpoint, demonstrating superior weight loss compared with a placebo, but the results fell short of expectations.

The Danish pharmaceutical company also reported Q4 earnings Wednesday of 6.34 Danish kroner ($0.88) per diluted share, up from 4.91 kroner a year earlier. Sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31 were 85.68 billion kroner, up from 65.86 billion kroner a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet expected 80.7 billion kroner. Shares of Novo Nordisk gained 4.5% in Copenhagen.

GSK reported Q4 earnings Wednesday of 0.23 British pounds ($0.29) per share, down from 0.29 pounds a year earlier. An analyst polled by FactSet expected 0.20 pounds. Sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31 were 8.12 billion pounds compared with 8.05 billion pounds a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by FactSet estimated 7.78 billion. Shares of GSK closed 7.2% higher in London.

Equinor said Wednesday that it is cutting its investment outlook for renewables and low carbon solutions to around $5 billion in total after project financing for 2025-2027. It is also reducing expected capacity in renewables to 10 to 12 gigawatts by 2030.

Banco Santander said Wednesday that it expects to return 10 billion euros to shareholders through buybacks from 2025 and 2026 earnings and anticipated excess capital, in addition to its standard cash dividend distribution.

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