12:00 PM EDT, 08/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed higher in Friday trading as the FTSE in London was up 0.28%, Germany's DAX increased 0.24%, France's CAC gained 0.31%, Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.57% and the Swiss Market Index advanced 0.33%.

France's unemployment rate fell to 7.3% in Q2 from 7.5% in the previous three-month period, according to statistics agency Insee.

Italy's trade surplus dropped month over month to 5.07 billion euros ($5.54 billion) in June from the revised 6.38 billion euros in May, according to data from statistics agency Istat. Seasonally adjusted exports grew 0.5% on a monthly basis, while imports were unchanged.

In Switzerland, government data showed that consumer sentiment index rose to -32.4 points in July from -36.6 points in June. The index stood at -37.2 points in the previous year.

In corporate news, Rheinmetall led the gainers on the DAX after the German automotive and arms manufacturer said that it received an order from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence for additional Forward Surgical Team stations to be used by the nation's armed forces.

On the FTSE, British lenders Standard Chartered and Barclays were among the gainers on Friday.

Barclays informed its staff it intends to remove the European Union's bonus cap, London's Financial Times reported Thursday, citing an internal memo from the bank.