12:23 PM EDT, 06/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed lower in Friday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.96%, the Swiss Market Index was down 0.42%, France's CAC tumbled 2.66%, the FTSE in London was off 0.21%, and Germany's DAX closed 1.34% lower.

The job vacancy rate in the euro area was 2.9% in Q1, which was unchanged from the previous quarter and down from 3.2% during Q1 of 2023, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU. In EU, the job vacancy rate was 2.6% in Q1, also unchanged from the previous quarter, and down from 2.9% during the year-earlier quarter.

The highest job vacancy rates in Q1 were in Austria (4.5%), Belgium (4.4%) and the Netherlands (4.4%), while the lowest rates were in Romania (0.7%), Bulgaria (0.8%), and Poland and Spain (0.9% each).

In France, the consumer price index was flat in May from the previous month, and up 2.3% on an annual basis, according to the Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies.

In Germany, the number of regular insolvencies filed increased 25.9% in May compared with the same month last year, according to preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office. In April, insolvencies increased 28.5% from a year earlier.

And in corporate news, UK financial services company Barclays has been asked to review its exposure to leveraged private equity deals as part of a UK regulator's investigation into the risks taken by lenders, according to media reports Friday that cited unnamed sources. The Prudential Regulation Authority has asked Barclays to examine whether it has properly assessed the risks of its exposure to leveraged finance deals.

Barclays did not immediately reply to MT Newswires' request for comment. The Bank of England declined to comment.

Microsoft plans to invest 6.69 billion euros ($7.15 billion) over a 10-year period to develop new data centers in Spain, Reuters reported Friday. Microsoft didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from MT Newswires.

Stellantis Chief Executive Carlos Tavares told investors Thursday that in anticipation of European tariffs, the Amsterdam-based automaker is already prepared to assemble Europe-bound electrical vehicles it is building with Chinese partner Leapmotor International outside of China. Shares of Stellantis closed more than 4% lower in Paris.

And London-based Mereo BioPharma said Friday that it priced an underwritten offering of approximately 12.5 million American depositary shares at $3.99 each for gross proceeds of around $50 million. The biopharmaceutical company said it plans to use the net proceeds to fund its setrusumab program to treat osteogenesis imperfecta.