12:25 PM EDT, 06/06/2024 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed higher in Thursday trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.68%, the Swiss Market Index gained 0.75%, France's CAC was up 0.42%, the FTSE in London increased 0.47% and Germany's DAX climbed 0.38%.

The European Central Bank lowered its three main interest rates by 25 basis points Thursday. The interest rate on the main refinancing operations and rates on the marginal lending facility and deposit facility were cut to 4.25%, 4.5% and 3.75% respectively, effective Wednesday.

"Based on our updated assessment of the inflation outlook, the dynamics of underlying inflation, and the strength of monetary policy transmission, it is now appropriate to moderate the degree of monetary policy restriction after nine months of holding rates steady," ECB President Christine Lagarde said in a speech.

The manufacturing and service sector performances in Europe continued to diverge in May, with the services sector recording growth in output, while most manufacturing sectors posted a decline in production, according to S&P Global Europe Sector PMI data.

Eurozone construction activity remained in a steep slump in May, according to the latest reading of the HCOB Eurozone Construction PMI Total Activity Index. Despite rising to 42.9 from 41.9 in April, the index still registered one of its lowest readings in 11 years.

In the UK, the S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 54.7 from 53 in April, the fastest in two years.

In Ireland, the AIB Services Business Activity Index rose to 55 in May from 53.3 in April, indicating an acceleration in service sector activity.

In corporate news, British consumer goods giant Unilever completed the sale of its Elida Beauty brands to private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners.

Meta Platforms is facing complaints filed by advocacy group noyb in 11 European countries over its reported plan to use personal posts and images of its users for artificial intelligence, the group said Thursday. Meta said in an emailed statement it is not the first company to use personal posts and images of users for AI, and it is "following the example set by Google and Open AI, who use this same legal basis," adding "we are confident that our approach complies with the law."

Irish airline operator Ryanair lost its appeal in the EU Court of Justice against the European Commission's approval of Spain's 10-billion-euro ($10.9 billion) state fund to support companies affected by the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reported.