European Equities Close Higher in Thursday Trading; Eurozone Constructions Continues to Falter

12:07 PM EST, 12/04/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed higher in Thursday trading as the Stoxx Europe rose 0.51%, Germany's DAX gained 0.85%, the FTSE 100 increased 0.19%, France's CAC advanced 0.43%, and the Swiss Market Index was up 0.27%.

The HCOB Eurozone Construction PMI Total Activity Index, which tracks monthly changes in industry activity, rose to 45.4 in November, from 44.0 in October. Despite the gain, activity continues to fall sharply and has remained below the neutral 50.0 threshold for the past 43 months, Hamburg Commercial Bank said.

Germany, France, and Italy recorded declines in construction during the month.

"The construction sector in the three major eurozone countries remains in recession," Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, said in a statement. "Both residential and commercial construction continue to decline almost unabated." it procedures.

In the UK, the headline S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to at 39.4 in November, down from 44.1 in October, which was its lowest reading since May 2020.

"November data revealed a sharp retrenchment across the UK construction sector as weak client confidence and a shortfall of new project starts again weighed on activity," Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, seasonally adjusted retail trade volume was unchanged in the euro area and the EU from October, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Compared with a year earlier, the calendar adjusted retail sales index rose 1.5% in the euro area and by 1.6% in the EU.

In corporate news, Meta Platforms may face interim measures from European regulators over its new policy on artificial intelligence providers' access to WhatsApp, Reuters reported Thursday, citing European Commission executive vice president Teresa Ribera.

The European Commission on Thursday launched a formal investigation to assess whether Meta's October policy breaches EU competition rules. The Commission said it is concerned the policy could prevent rival AI providers from reaching customers in the European Economic Area, while Meta's own AI tool, Meta AI, remains accessible on the platform.

Rio Tinto Chief Executive Simon Trott on Thursday outlined plans to streamline the business with productivity gains and cost savings through potential asset sales.

The company said it looks to release $5 billion to $10 billion in cash from existing asset base, and has taken action to deliver about $650 million in annualized productivity benefits and expects "significantly more" over the coming months.

Shares of the British mining company were little changed on the FTSE 100.

UniQure said Thursday that it will "urgently" seek a follow-up" meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration after the regulator said phase 1/2 studies of AMT-130 data are now unlikely to support a Biologics License Application submission.

AMT-130 is an investigational gene therapy intended to treat patients with Huntington's disease, the company said. uniQure said it is evaluating the feedback and is looking to meet with the FDA in Q1.

Shares of the Dutch gene therapy company fell 11% in Frankfurt.

Novo Nordisk has lost an Indian court case over whether Dr. Reddy's Laboratories can manufacture and export generic versions of its diabetes and weight-loss drugs, news outlets reported Thursday.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed Novo Nordisk's petition to block Dr. Reddy's from producing Ozempic and Wegovy's active ingredient semaglutide, the reports said.

The ruling will allow Dr. Reddy's to produce semaglutide compounds and export them to countries where the patent has expired, the reports said.

Novo Nordisk didn't immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Shares of Novo Nordisk were up 0.7% in Copenhagen.

Equinor said Thursday that production has started at the Verdande subsea field in the Norwegian Sea with reserves of 36 million barrels of oil.

The company said the project was delivered on schedule and in under three years from investment approval with total spending of over 6 billion Norwegian krone (595.3 million).

Shares of the petroleum refiner were up 0.3% in Oslo.

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