12:01 PM EST, 11/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets ended the week lower in Friday trading as The Stoxx Europe dropped 0.76%, Germany's DAX was down 0.23%, the FTSE in London was off 0.09%, France's CAC lost 0.58%, and the Swiss Market Index closed 1.33% lower.

The European Union economy is returning to modest growth after a long period of stagnation as disinflation continues, according to the European Commission's Autumn Forecast, which expects GDP growth of 0.9% in the EU and 0.8% in the euro area for 2024. The EC forecasts economic activity to accelerate to 1.5% in the EU and to 1.3% in the euro area in 2025, and to 1.8% in the EU and 1.6% in the euro area in 2026.

In the UK, the gross domestic product increased an estimated 0.1% in Q3, following 0.5% growth the previous quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics. Compared with a year earlier, GDP increased an estimated 1%. Meanwhile, monthly GDP contracted 0.1% in September, which the ONS largely attributed to a decline in manufacturing output and information and communication services.

In France, the consumer price index increased 0.3% in October from September when it declined 1.2%, according to the Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. Annual inflation was 1.2% in October up from 1.1% in September.

In Italy, the consumer price index was unchanged in October versus the previous month, and was up 0.9% on an annual basis, according to the Italian National Institute of Statistics.

In Switzerland, economic output increased an estimated 0.2% in Q3 as growth in the service sector was offset by a negative performance in industry, according to a flash estimate from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office.

And in corporate news, British oil and gas companies BP and Shell, along with France's TotalEnergies and Norwegian petroleum refiner Equinor, said Friday they're making a $500 million joint investment commitment to support the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 initiative. The joint investment will back projects "primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia."

Rio Tinto said Friday it is partnering with the Wildlife Conservation Society and Everland to invest $16 million in Madagascar's Makira Natural Park REDD+ Project. The British mining company also said Friday that it has signed deals with GravitHy to help accelerate its steel decarbonization project in France. Financial details were not disclosed.

Dutch telecommunications company VEON said Friday it has completed the registration and received a commercial license for its branch office in the Dubai International Financial Centre. The company said the move aligns with its plan to relocate its headquarters to Dubai from Amsterdam.

European pharmaceutical stocks were down sharply in Friday's trading after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an outspoken vaccine critic, was nominated to be the US's next Health and Human Services Secretary. GSK and AstraZeneca fell 3.9% and 3.3% respectively on the FTSE in London, while Merck and Bayer dropped 2% and 1.6% respectively in Frankfurt, and Sanofi lost 3.6% in Paris.