12:37 PM EST, 03/06/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed lower in Friday trading as war in the Middle East has caused oil prices to surge, raising investors' fears of higher inflation.

The Stoxx Europe fell 1%, Germany's DAX dropped 0.9%, the FTSE 100 declined 1.2%, France's CAC was down 0.7%, and the Swiss Market Index lost 1.5%.

Semiconductor stocks tumbled in Friday trading as Infineon dropped 6.9% in Frankfurt and STMicroelectronics lost 5.1% in Paris. In Amsterdam, BE Semiconductor Industries shed more than 17% and ASML fell nearly 4%, while Nordic Semiconductor was down 3.1% in Oslo.

Mining stocks were also down as Anglo American dropped 5% in London, followed by Antofagasta and Glencore, which fell 3.1% and 2.4% respectively, while ArcelorMittal declined nearly 3% in Paris, and Heidelberg Materials lost 3.6% in Frankfurt.

Euro area and European Union seasonally adjusted GDP grew 0.2% each in Q4, compared with the previous quarter, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU. Compared with a year earlier, seasonally adjusted GDP rose 1.2% in the euro area and 1.4% in the EU. For 2025, GDP increased by 1.4% in the euro area and by 1.5% in the EU.

In the UK, home prices increased 0.3% in February, after rising 0.8% in January to reach an average of 301,151 pounds ($401,438), according to the latest reading of the Halifax House Price Index, which said prices have risen by around 3,000 pounds.

And in corporate news, TotalEnergies has evacuated its expatriate employees working in Basra, Iraq, after airstrikes in the region, Reuters reported Friday, citing unnamed sources.

The company did not immediately respond to an MT Newswires request for comment.

Shares of the French oil and gas company gained 1.8% in Paris.

Lloyds Banking Group is looking to boost its position as leading financial technology company in the UK and cut technology costs by selling more customer data and automating governance checks, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing internal documents.

The documents, which were compiled by Chief Technology Officer Vic Weigler, showed that the company targets to shut down hundreds of internal applications and reduce IT costs by hundreds of millions of pounds a year by 2028.

Lloyds Banking Group did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for a comment.

Shares of the British lender dropped 1.5% in London.

Shell signed several oil deals with the Venezuelan government that include offshore natural gas and onshore oil and gas exploitation, news outlets reported, citing a statement.

The company also signed deals with Venezuelan engineering company VEPICA, KBR, and Baker Hughes, Reuters reported.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

A Shell spokesperson told MT Newswires that the company executed several agreements with the Venezuelan government, covering the development of oil and gas opportunities, among others. The spokesperson also confirmed the deals with VEPICA, KBR, and Baker Hughes.

Meanwhile, Shell's petrochemical joint venture with China's CNOOC plans to shut a steam cracker in southern China due to disruptions in feedstock supplies, Reuters reported Friday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The joint venture, CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals, or CSPC, will close its cracker in Huizhou city in Guangdong province with an annual capacity of 1.2 million metric tons, the sources reportedly said.

Shell did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Shares of Shell increased 0.8% in London.

Carlyle Group and CVC have agreed to pay UBS a share of their performance fees for the Swiss bank to sell their products to individuals, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing three unnamed people familiar with the matter.

Carlyle has agreed to share carried interest from its evergreen secondaries fund, the people told the FT, while CVC has also agreed to share performance fees in an evergreen fund, two of the people said.

"The selection of GPs is based on our robust investment and due diligence process," a UBS spokesperson told MT Newswires in an email, adding that "fee arrangements are in line with market practices and are disclosed to clients."

Carlyle and CVC did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' requests for comment.

Shares of UBS fell 2.5% in Zurich.

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