12:03 PM EDT, 07/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed higher in Friday trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.88%, the Swiss Market Index increased 0.89%, France's CAC climbed 1.27%, the FTSE in London was up 0.36%, and Germany's DAX rose 1.15%.

In France, the consumer price index rose 0.1% in June from May, and was up 2.2% from June 2023, according to the Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.

In Spain, the annual variation rate of the CPI in June declined to 3.4% from 3.6% in May, while the annual rate of core inflation remained at 3.0%, according to Spain's National Institute of Statistics.

In Germany, wholesale prices declined 0.3% in June from May, and were down 0.6% from the same month a year earlier, according to The Federal Statistical Office.

And in corporate news, British consumer goods giant Unilever plans to cut one-third of all of its office jobs in Europe by the end of next year, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing a company-wide call. As many as 3,200 roles in Europe would be eliminated by the end of 2025.

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk's Ozempic may reduce the risk of dementia and other neurological issues compared to older antidiabetic medications like sitagliptin and glipizide, according to a study by the University of Oxford and published in The Lancet's eClinicalMedicine journal on Wednesday.

European automaker Stellantis has been warned by Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso to make "responsible" choices on jobs for its car plants and for local suppliers as the company unveiled a new Serbian-made Grande Panda EV model for Fiat, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.

Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson reported a Q2 loss Friday of 3.34 Swedish kroner ($0.32) per diluted share, widening from a loss of 0.21 kroner a year earlier.

And British artificial intelligence chipmaker Graphcore said Friday that it has been acquired by Japan's SoftBank Group. As part of the deal, Graphcore will become a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank and will continue to operate under the Graphcore name. Financial terms were not disclosed.