12:10 PM EDT, 07/09/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed higher in Wednesday trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.73%, Germany's DAX advanced 1.30%, the FTSE 100 was up 0.15%, France's CAC 40 increased 1.44%, and the Swiss Market Index gained 0.30%.

In corporate news, British oil and gas giant BP said Wednesday that it reached an agreement to sell its mobility and convenience and BP pulse businesses in the Netherlands, which includes 300 fuel retail sites and 15 electric vehicle charging hubs, to Catom.

Pharmaceutical company Merck said Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire UK-based biopharmaceutical company Verona Pharma for $107 per American depositary share for a total transaction value of about $10 billion. Each ADS represents eight Verona ordinary shares.

Shares of Verona Pharma surged more than 14% in Wednesday trading on the Xetra trading platform in Frankfurt.

UK-based communications company WPP saw its shares tumble over 16% on the FTSE 100 after it said Wednesday that it now expects full-year 2025 like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs to fall between 3% to 5%, compared to flat and down 2% previously.

The company said it expects "continued macro uncertainty" weighing on customer spend and "weaker" net new business than originally expected.

Bank stocks were trending higher in Wednesday trading as Societe Generale advanced 4% in Paris, followed by BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole, which gained 3.2% and 2.4% respectively. Barclays and NatWest rose 1.4% each in London, while Deutsche Bank increased 3% in Frankfurt.