11:52 AM EDT, 10/08/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed lower in Thursday trading as crude oil prices soared close to 5% to more than $105 a barrel over escalating fighting in the Middle East, while bond yields also continue to rise.

The Stoxx Europe declined 0.7%, Germany's DAX fell 1.1%, the FTSE 100 was off 0.2%, France's CAC lost 0.5%, and the Swiss Market Index dropped 1.2%.

In corporate news, NatWest is pulling back from dealing in US and European government bonds and plans to withdraw from primary dealership programs in both markets, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter and a company spokesperson.

The bank plans to cut up to 10 jobs while remaining a primary dealer in the UK bond market and shifting NatWest Markets' focus toward financing, advisory and hedging activities, according to the report, citing the people.

A NatWest spokesperson said the bank is "simplifying" its markets business structure and proposes to withdraw from European and US Primary Dealership programs.

"The US and Europe remain important markets for NatWest, and these changes will allow us to focus resources on areas where we can deliver the greatest value for customers and support future growth," the spokesperson said.

Shares of the British lender dropped 1.5% in London.

AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo's breast cancer therapy, Datroway, was approved in China, Daiichi Sankyo said Thursday.

The company said the approval was based on the phase 3 trial in which Datroway extended median overall survival to 23.7 months from 18.7 months with chemotherapy. The treatment also reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 43%.

Datroway is being jointly developed and commercialized by AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo, it added.

Shares of AstraZeneca fell 2.3% in London.

Movado said Thursday that it has agreed to sell a 95% stake in its EBEL luxury watch brand for $66.5 million to a group led by Montres Journe, with participation from Chanel and Pierre Jacques.

The deal enables Movado to deepen its focus on its core luxury and fashion watch and jewelry products, it said. Movado said it will initially transfer EBEL's intellectual property, inventory, and certain other assets to a newly formed Swiss unit, while retaining a 5% stake in the business.

Shares of the luxury watch brand lost 0.7% in Frankfurt.

SLB said Thursday it signed a 15-year agreement with TotalEnergies to deploy its DrillPlan well planning and engineering software across the French energy company's global upstream operations.

The agreement will help TotalEnergies move to a standardized digital planning system that connects subsurface data with well design and engineering, SLB said.

The software integrates data from existing wells, casing and completion plans, and other information used in drilling, the company added.

SLB said the system is intended to improve collaboration and consistency in well planning and support the integration of existing workflows with digital tools.

Shares of TotalEnergies rose close to 3% in Paris.

Equinor said Thursday it discovered gas at the Gullfaks South field 190 kilometers northwest of Bergen, Norway.

The site production license is held by Equinor, Petoro, and OMV, and holds between 3.3 million and 10.3 million barrels of oil equivalent, the company said. The exploration well was drilled as a sidetrack during production well operations, Equinor said.

Shares of the Norwegian petroleum refiner gained 1.8% in Oslo.

Vodafone Group's VodafoneThree unit has revised its cost-saving target to 1 billion pounds ($1.32 billion) annually by fiscal 2032 and unveiled its growth and strategy ambitions.

The goal is an increase from the company's previous target of 700 million pounds by fiscal year 2030. The unit is also targeting a mid-to-high single-digit compound annual growth rate for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and after leases between fiscal years 2025 and 2032.

Shares of the British telecommunications operator closed nearly 3% lower in London.

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