12:13 PM EDT, 04/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed lower in Wednesday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.45%, the Swiss Market Index dropped 0.86%, France's CAC was down 0.17%, the FTSE in London was off 0.06%, and Germany's DAX lost 0.35%.

German companies' sentiment regarding the economy improved for the third straight month in April, according to the ifo Business Climate Index, which rose to 89.4 for the month, from 87.9 in March.

In France, oil prices in euros continued to rise in March, increasing 1.6% month-on-month, according to the Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. This was a slowdown from the 5.4% increase in prices reported in February.

In Italy, the consumer confidence index declined in April to 95.2 from 96.5 in March, according to the Italian National Institute for Statistics. Istat also reported that the business confidence index moved lower to 95.8 in April from 97.0 the previous month.

And in corporate news, shares of French luxury goods company Kering fell nearly 7% in Paris in Wednesday's trading session after it said its Q1 performance "worsened considerably" due to sluggish market conditions, particularly in China. Revenue for the luxury goods company was down 11% from the year-ago period. It also said it now expects a 40% to 45% drop in recurring operating income in H1 of 2024, compared with H1 of 2023.

Shares of UK consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser rose nearly 3% in London after it reported a 1.5% increase in Q1 revenue, which topped analyst forecasts, according to media reports.

Mining stocks rallied in London, led by Anglo American and Rio Tinto, which rose 4.5% and 1.6% respectively, followed by Endeavour Mining and Glencore, which were up 2.2% and 1.2% respectively.