12:19 PM EDT, 07/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed higher Thursday as the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.65%, the Swiss Market Index gained 0.86%, France's CAC increased 0.71%, the FTSE in London was up 0.36%, and Germany's DAX added 0.72%.

In the UK, monthly real gross domestic product grew by an estimated 0.4% in May after showing no growth in April, according to the UK's Office for National Statistics. The monthly rate was double the 0.2% expected by economists, according to Bloomberg. GDP grew by an estimated 1.4% from a year earlier.

In Germany, the consumer price index rose 2.2% in June from a year earlier, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

"Energy and food prices have had a dampening effect on overall inflation since the beginning of the year," said Ruth Brand, president of the federal office. "By contrast, we continue to see above-average price increases in service prices."

In Spain, the business confidence index increased 1.5% in Q3 from Q2, according to Spain's National Institute of Statistics.

In corporate news, the European Commission said Thursday it has secured a commitment from Apple to open its iPhones to rivals' "tap-and-go" contactless payment systems among users in the European Economic Area.

"Today's decision makes Apple's commitments binding," said Margrethe Vestager, the commission's executive vice president in charge of competition policy. "It opens up competition in this crucial sector by preventing Apple from excluding other mobile wallets from the iPhone's ecosystem."

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk is partnering with Indonesia's state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma to package insulin in Indonesia, Reuters reported Wednesday.

British pharmaceutical and biotech company GSK has begun shipping doses of its trivalent flu vaccines Flulaval and Fluarix to US health-care providers and pharmacies ahead of this winter's flu season.

UK-based biopharmaceutical company Biodexa Pharmaceuticals said 12-month data from a mid-stage clinical trial showed the longevity of eRapa's effect to treat precancerous polyps in the gastrointestinal tract.

BP and Shell lost several high-profile energy traders to commodity trading houses over better bonuses, Reuters reported.