BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks closed on a mixed note on Thursday with investors mostly making cautious moves, digesting corporate earnings updates and regional economic data, while continuing to focus on geopolitical news.
The U.S. and Iran are expected to have another round of discussions to try and arrive at an agreement to end their conflict in the Middle East.
According to reports, the U.S. and Iran are said to be considering extending their ceasefire by two weeks in order to allow more time for negotiations.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview on Wednesday that the Middle East conflict was 'very close to over,' fueling market optimism that peace talks could resume and a resolution be found.
The pan European Stoxx 600 edged down by 0.05%. France's CAC 40 closed down 0.14%, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX ended higher by 0.29% and 0.36%, respectively. Switzerland's SMI finished with a loss of 0.35%.
Among other markets in Europe, Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Türkiye closed weak.
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands and Sweden ended higher.
In the UK market, Intertek Group jumped 9% after Swedish private equity firm EQT confirmed it had made a takeover proposal to the inspection, product testing and certification company that was rejected.
In a brief statement responding to recent press speculation, the company said: 'EQT confirms that, on 10 April 2026, it submitted an indicative proposal to Intertek regarding a possible cash offer to acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Intertek. The possible offer was rejected by Intertek on 13 April 2026 and EQT is considering its options.'
Entain climbed more than 6%. The sports betting and gambling company reported net gaming revenue growth of 3% for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, helped by the continued momentum and a strong volume growth of 8%.
Tesco ended higher by 4.7% after reporting solid sales and profit growth, and announcing a £500 million buyback. The company reported preliminary fiscal year profit before tax, on a 53-week basis, from continuing operations basis, of 2.40 billion pounds compared to 2.21 billion pounds, up 8.5% from last year.
Halma, The Sage Group, BP, RightMove, LSEG, Pearson, Experian, Relx, AutoTrader Group, Metlen Energy & Metals, DCC, Smiths Group, Standard Life and Diploma also ended with strong gains.
Antofagasta, Airtel Africa, Rolls-Royce Holdings, SSE, Babcock International, Convatec Group, IAG, BAE Systems, Centrica, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Imperial Brands and British American Tobacco lost 1%-3%.
In the German market, Brenntag climbed more than 4%. Scout24, SAP, Zalando and Infineon moved up 3%-4%.
Deutsche Telekom, Heidelberg Materials, Deutsche Boerse and Adidas gained 1.3%-2%.
Mercedes-Benz, Qiagen, Merck, RWE, Commerzbank, MTU Aero Engines, BMW, Siemens Energy, Volkswagen, Rheinmetall and E.ON lost 1%-2%.
In Paris, Teleperformance climbed nearly 5%. Dassault Systemes, Bureau Veritas, Edenred, Capgemini, Publicis Groupe, Saint Gobain, Orange, Michelin, EssilorLuxottica and Hermes International gained 1%-3%.
Safran, Kering, ArcelorMittal, L'Oreal, Engie, Stellantis and BNP Paribas lost 1%-3.4%.
In economic news, Eurozone inflation accelerated more than initially estimated in March, reaching its strongest level since mid-2024, final data from Eurostat showed.
The harmonized index of consumer prices rose 2.6% on a yearly basis in March. This was revised up from the initial estimate of 2.5% and followed a 1.9% rise in February.
Data from the Office for National Statistics showed UK's gross domestic product logged a monthly growth of 0.5% in February, outpacing the 0.1% expansion in January. Economists had forecast the growth to remain unchanged at 0.1%. Compared to the same period last year, GDP advanced 1% in February.
On the production-side, the dominant service sector expanded 0.5% and construction output advanced 1% in February.
Industrial production grew 0.5%, following successive falls of 0.1% in January and a 0.4% drop in December. Meanwhile, manufacturing output edged down 0.1%, reversing January's 0.2% increase.
On a yearly basis, industrial production slid 0.4% and manufacturing dropped 0.5% in February.
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