European Stocks Close Mixed in Thursday Trading; Euro Area Unemployment Declines

12:23 PM EST, 01/08/2026 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed mixed in Thursday trading as the Stoxx Europe declined 0.2%, Germany's DAX 40 and the FTSE 100 were little changed, France's CAC gained 0.1%, and the Swiss Market Index rose 0.2%.

The euro area seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.3% in November, down from 6.4% in October and up from 6.2% a year earlier, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In the EU, the unemployment rate was 6% in November, unchanged from October, and up from 5.8% a year earlier.

In Switzerland, the Federal Statistical Office reported that inflation rose 0.1% in December from a year earlier.

In the UK, average house prices fell 0.6% in December from November and rose 0.3% from a year earlier, according to the Halifax House Price Index. The average house price of 297,755 pounds ($400,047) was the lowest since June.

In corporate news, HSBC agreed to pay 267.5 million euros ($311.7 million) to the French government to settle alleged fraud charges related to dividend tax payments.

"HSBC is pleased to have resolved this matter which relates to certain historical trading which ended in 2019," a spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

HSBC shares rose 0.4% in London

Ryanair was penalized by a German court over its alleged refusal to comply with judicial mandates, plaintiff eDreams ODIGEO said.

In a separate ruling, the Hamburg Court ruled that Ryanair's mechanism for forcing user consent through a search button that pre-ticks the terms and conditions box was prohibited, according to eDreams.

Shares of the Irish airline fell 0.8% in Dublin.

AstraZeneca appointed Rick Suarez as US president and head of its US biopharmaceuticals business unit, effective immediately.

Shares of the British pharmaceutical giant fell 0.3% in London.

Shell said it expects Q4 upstream production of 1.84 million to 1.94 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, up from 1.83 million in Q3.

The company's shares fell 3.5% in London.

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