12:04 PM EDT, 05/22/2025 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed lower in Thursday trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.64%, Germany's DAX lost 0.51%, the FTSE 100 declined 0.54%, France's CAC 40 was down 0.58%, and the Swiss Market Index dropped 0.89%.

Eurozone business activity fell into contraction territory in May as the seasonally adjusted HCOB Flash Eurozone Composite PMI Output Index declined to 49.5 for the month from 50.4 in April. It was the first time in five months that the index reading was below the 50.0-point threshold that demarcates expansion from contraction.

According to S&P Global, which compiles the index, output in Germany decreased after having risen in each of the first four months of the year as Europe's largest economy slid into contraction territory. Business activity in France, the EU's second-largest economy, declined for the ninth straight month. Meanwhile, business activity in the other euro area countries continued to outperform the largest two economies, S&P Global said.

Business activity expanded the UK in May, S&P said, but remained in contraction as the headline S&P Global Flash UK PMI Composite Output Index rose to 49.4, from 48.5 in April. The firm said the loss in output indicated a minor GDP contraction so far in Q2.

And in corporate news, Deutsche Bank has reduced its exposure to companies that are sensitive to the US tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing Deutsche's chief financial officer, James von Moltke. Deutsche Bank did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Shares of Deutsche Bank on the DAX in Frankfurt.

BP has commenced the sale process of its Castrol unit, Reuters reported Thursday, citing two unnamed people with knowledge of the process. The sale of its lubricants business is part of the energy company's plan to raise $20 billion by 2027 via asset sales, the report said. BP did not immediately reply to a request for comment from MT Newswires.

Shares of BP declined 1.8% in London trading.

Sanofi has agreed to acquire Vigil Neuroscience in a cash transaction with an equity value of up to $600 million, the companies said late Wednesday. Under the terms of the deal, Vigil shareholders will receive an upfront payment of $8 per share in cash plus a non-tradeable right to receive a possible additional $2 per share in cash following the first commercial sale of Alzheimer's therapy VG-3927 if achieved within a specific time period, the companies said.

Shares of Sanofi were off 0.36% in Paris

Telehealth company LifeMD said Thursday it launched a $299 introductory offer for new self-pay patients prescribed Wegovy, as part of a collaboration with Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk.

Shares of Novo Nordisk were fell 2.3% in Copenhagen trading.