European stock markets closed higher on Thursday, with The Stoxx Europe climbing 1.08%, Germany's DAX rising by 1.26%, the FTSE in London gaining 0.51%, France's CAC increasing by 1.32%, and the Swiss Market Index closing 0.68% higher. In the euro area, seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.4% in Q3 compared to the previous quarter, while the European Union saw a 0.3% increase.
Year-over-year, the euro area experienced a GDP growth of 0.9%, and the EU 1.0%. Further, Eurostat reported a decline in seasonally adjusted industrial production, which decreased by 2.0% in both the euro area and the EU during September from August, reflecting a year-on-year decrease of 2.8% and 2.4%, respectively. In Spain, the annual variation rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was recorded at 1.8% in October, an increase from 1.5% observed in September.
The core inflation rate in Spain also ticked up, reaching 2.5% from the prior 2.4%. On the corporate front, Shell indicated that its Singapore refinery sale is progressing as planned, set to finalize in Q1 through a joint venture with Indonesia's Chandra Asri and Switzerland's Glencore. In a notable legal development, Apple faces a lawsuit for 3 billion British pounds ($3.16 billion) in the UK from the consumer advocacy group Which? The group alleges that Apple failed to provide iPhone and iPad users with alternative cloud storage options, claiming this behavior constitutes an abuse of market dominance.
Apple has not yet responded to the request for comment. French oil and gas company TechnipFMC announced it has secured a "major" contract from TotalEnergies for the GranMorgu project on Block 58, marking the first offshore oil and gas development in Suriname. British pharmaceutical giant GSK reported positive headline results from an interim analysis of a phase three trial focusing on belantamab mafodotin in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone to treat relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma..