11:45 AM EST, 11/06/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The stock markets closed sharply lower in Friday trading after the Bank of England raised its key policy rate Thursday by 25 basis points to 4%. It was the first time the Bank raised rates in more than three years.

The Stoxx Europe lost 1.2%, Germany's DAX shed 2.1%, the FTSE 100 dropped 1%, France's CAC declined 0.9%, and the Swiss Market Index decreased 1.3%.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 to raise the Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4%. One member voted for a 0.5 percentage point increase to 4.25%.

"The degree of inflationary pressure in the pipeline is now sufficient to warrant an increase in Bank Rate," the Bank said in a statement. "Activity data in recent months have generally been stronger than expected, adding to the case for modestly tighter monetary policy."

In corporate news, Novartis said testing has linked two tumor cases to its Zolgensma gene therapy, which treats spinal muscular atrophy, a rare genetic disease that causes progressive muscle weakness, Bloomberg reported Friday.

Since its approval in 2019, nine tumor cases have been reported in patients treated with Zolgensma, the report said. Novartis told Bloomberg it continues to monitor safety reports and assess all reported cases, though it has not confirmed the type or location of the tumors.

The drug's existing safety information warns of a potential tumor risk associated with the therapy's insertion into patients' DNA, Bloomberg reported.

In a statement, Novartis said that more than 6,000 patients have been treated with Zolgensma in various clinical trials, other programs, and commercial treatment, of which the company has received nine reports of tumors, with two showing evidnece of being linked to the drug.

"The patients underwent treatment and continue to be monitored," the company said. "The potential risk of tumors due to vector integration is currently included in the Zolgensma prescribing information."

Shares of the company declined 0.9% in Zurich.

ING Group is offering a portfolio of data center loans worth roughly $500 million for sale through a so-called bids-wanted-in-competition process, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The loans for sale include a $25 million portion backing a large data center site in New Mexico that is part of the $500 billion Stargate project, a joint AI infrastructure venture involving OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle, the report said.

The Dutch bank is also seeking to offload debt linked to operators such as Vantage Data Centers and CyrusOne.

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

Shares of ING fell 1.7% in Amsterdam.

Ascendis Pharma said Friday that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products recommended maintaining orphan medicinal product designation for once-weekly TransCon CNP for the treatment of achondroplasia in children.

If TransCon CNP receives marketing authorization in the European Union, the orphan designation would provide 10 years of market exclusivity, the biopharmaceutical company said.

The European Commission's final decision on Ascendis' marketing authorization application is expected in the fourth quarter.

Shares of Ascendis Pharma lost 1.8% in Frankfurt.

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