11:52 AM EDT, 10/21/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed higher in Wednesday trading as investors parsed earnings reports, while the UK reported hotter-than-expected inflation.

The Stoxx Europe rose 0.8%, Germany's DAX gained 1.2%, the FTSE 100 increased 0.2%, France's CAC advanced 0.9%, and the Swiss Market Index was up 0.4%.

Annual inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, rose faster than expected in the UK, coming in at 3.5% in September from 3.1% in August, while accelerating 0.4% on a monthly basis, according to the Office for National Statistics. Analysts polled by Bloomberg expected annual and monthly inflation of 3.4% and 0.3%, respectively.

"Inflation climbed notably in September to its higher annual rate in almost a year," ONS Chief Economist Grant Fitzner said in an X post. "Increased fuel prices were again the main driver, with the cost of diesel the highest since July 2022."

In corporate news, GSK said Tuesday the US Food and Drug Administration approved its drug, Hibsago, or bepirovirsen, for adults without liver cirrhosis whose hepatitis B is controlled by standard antivirals but who still carry low levels of the virus's surface protein.

In two phase 3 trials, 19% of patients cleared the virus enough to stop all treatment and remain virus-free for at least 24 weeks, the company said.

Meanwhile, GSK also closed a licensing agreement with Hutchmed, which granted a GSK unit worldwide development and commercialization rights to its experimental cancer drug HMPL-A830, excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, the company said late Tuesday.

Under the deal, Hutchmed expects to receive an upfront payment of $110 million, with potential milestone payments of up to about $1.19 billion and tiered royalties on annual net sales.

Shares of GSK increased 0.3% in London.

ArcelorMittal has reached an initial agreement with the Industrial Development Corp. of South Africa to sell its South African unit in a deal valued at about 10 billion rand ($610 million), Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The deal includes a cash component of about 3 billion rand, while the state-owned development financier would take on about 7 billion rand in debt accumulated by ArcelorMittal South Africa. The transaction is subject to a shareholder vote, with the parties aiming to complete the deal by the end of the year, according to the news outlet.

ArcelorMittal and Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Shares of ArcelorMittal gained 0.3% in Paris.

Rio Tinto has agreed to a new supply contract with China's state iron ore buyer, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

China Mineral Resources Group has verbally notified some steel mills of the deal, the report said.

Starting Thursday, CMRG will begin collecting information on volumes that each mill needs to buy from Rio, the report said, citing two of the people.

Rio Tinto didn't immediately reply to a request for comment from MT Newswires.

Shares of the mining company fell 1% in London.

Shell and Equinor have secured Britain's approval for the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea to begin supplying gas to British homes and businesses as early as the end of October, the UK government said Wednesday.

The project, operated through Shell and Equinor's joint venture Adura, is expected to boost domestic gas production by roughly 6% at its peak and have a lifespan of up to 11 years, supporting the country's energy security and protecting jobs, the UK's energy security department said.

Shares of Shell advanced 0.2% in London, while Equinor closed 1.6% higher in Oslo.

Eni and Snam's joint Ravenna CCS Phase 2 project has been selected by the European Commission for funding under a 2025 innovation fund called Net-Zero Technologies, the companies said Tuesday.

The carbon transport and storage infrastructure project was selected as an industrial decarbonization project in the fund's large-scale category, the companies said.

Ravenna CCS has a capacity of approximately 500 million metric tons, they said.

Shares of Eni rose 1.6% in Milan.

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