European Equities Close Mixed in Monday Trading; EU Trade Surplus Declines in July

12:06 PM EDT, 09/15/2025 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed mixed in Monday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4%, Germany's DAX was up 0.15%, the FTSE 100 was off 0.11%, France's CAC gained 0.95%, and the Swiss Market Index was down 0.41%.

There was a 12.4 billion euro ($14.6 billion) trade surplus in the euro area in July, down from 18.5 billion euros a year earlier, according to preliminary data from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Euro area exports of goods to the rest of the world totaled 251.5 billion euros in July, up from 250.4 billion euros a year earlier.

In the EU, the trade surplus was an estimated 12.1 billion euros in July, down from 15.9 billion a year earlier.

Eurostat also reported Monday that the job vacancy rate was 2.2% in the euro area in Q2, down from 2.4% in Q1, and from 2.6% a year earlier. In the EU, the job vacancy rate was 2.1% in Q2, compared with 2.2% in Q1 and 2.4% in Q2 2024.

The Swiss parliament's upper house is set to vote on Monday over delaying new banking regulations that would raise UBS Group's capital requirements by about $3 billion, according to multiple media reports.

Reports said the Swiss Senate will also vote on a proposal to bundle the legislation with a larger reform package that would increase the bank's capital requirements by as much as $26 billion. The vote could delay the smaller capital reform to 2029 from the government's initial plan of 2027, Bloomberg reported. UBS did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Shares of UBS gained 2.4% in Zurich.

And in corporate news, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria should significantly raise its takeover offer for Banco Sabadell if it wants it to be considered, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing Banco Sabadell Chairman Josep Oliu.

"A 30% premium would be something that would allow us to seriously consider" the offer, Oliu reportedly told Spanish newspaper Expansion in an interview.

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

Shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya increased 0.9% in Madrid.

Novo Nordisk said Monday the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use approved an update to the label for its oral diabetes drug Rybelsus to include cardiovascular effects. It also said a US decision on extending Rybelsus's label for cardiovascular use is expected later this year.

Meanwhile, the Danish pharmaceutical giant's obesity treatment drug Wegovy led to increased weight loss in patients during two late-stage clinical trials in which the dose was tripled to 7.2 mg, the Financial Times reported Sunday.

A Novo Nordisk spokesperson told MT Newswires that the 7.2 mg dose of Wegovy demonstrated an average weight loss of 21% in people with obesity enrolled in the STEP UP trial, including a weight loss of 25% or more for a third of the participants compared with placebo.

Shares of Novo Nordisk closed 2% higher in Copenhagen.

Barclays is planning to spend at least $1 billion to renovate its regional headquarters in New York's Times Square, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing a person familiar with the matter. Construction is set to begin in the middle of next year and expected to finish in 2030, the report said. Barclays did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Shares of the British bank rose 1.2% in London.

MT Newswires does not provide investment advice. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.