European Equities Close Higher in Thursday Trading; ECB Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged

12:12 PM EDT, 09/11/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed higher in Thursday trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.51%, Germany's DAX gained 0.26%, the FTSE 100 increased 0.78%, France's CAC advanced 0.80%, and the Swiss Market Index was up 0.62%.

The European Central Bank said Thursday it is keeping its three key interest rates unchanged at 2.00% for the deposit facility, 2.15% for main refinancing operations, and 2.40% for the marginal lending facility. The bank said inflation is currently around its 2% medium-term target.

The ECB also said it expects headline inflation to average 2.1% in 2025, 1.7% in 2026, and 1.9% in 2027.

And in corporate news, Ryanair Chief Executive Officer Michael O'Leary expects airspace incursions like the Russian drone barrage over Poland on Wednesday to "be an ongoing issue for all airlines for the next number of years," multiple news outlets reported Thursday.

O'Leary told shareholders Thursday the incident was a "wake-up call for Europe and NATO" as he called for a strong response to "Russian prodding," according to the reports. The Russian drones were shot down over Poland, marking the first time a member of NATO is known to have fired shots during the Russia-Ukraine war, Reuters said.

Ryanair shares gained 1% in Dublin.

Sanofi said early Thursday that the US Food and Drug Administration granted fast-track designation to its therapeutic candidate, SAR402663, for neovascular age-related macular degeneration. The designation is intended to facilitate the development and expedite the review of the product, according to Sanofi.

Shares of Sanofi were up 0.57% in Paris.

Novo Nordisk employees will be required to return to the office five days a week, Bloomberg reported, citing earlier reports from Danish newspapers Borsen and Finans. The new policy is set to begin Jan. 1. The decision came after the drugmaker announced plans to reduce its global workforce by about 9,000, with roughly 5,000 layoffs expected in Denmark.

Novo Nordisk told MT Newswires that it plans to implement a new global standard requiring office-based employees to work from the office five days per week, while noting that managers and employees can still make individual arrangements to balance personal and business needs.

Novo Nordisk's stock was down 1.5% in Copenhagen.

Apple said AirPods' live translation feature is not available for customers in the EU nor for users whose Apple account's country or region is also in the EU. The tech giant did not provide a reason.

It launched AirPods Pro 3 Tuesday, with availability beginning Sept. 19. The live translation feature, which is in beta, allows in-person communication across select languages, the company said.

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