01:12 PM EDT, 03/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed mixed in Friday trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.19%, the Swiss Market Index lost 0.35%, France's CAC gained 0.36%, the FTSE in London was off 0.20%, and Germany's DAX nudged 0.03% lower.

The job vacancy rate in the euro area in Q4 dropped to 2.7% from 2.9% the previous quarter and 3.1% a year earlier, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU.

The highest job vacancy rates were in Belgium and the Netherlands at 4.4% and 4.2% respectively. The lowest rates were in Bulgaria and Romania at 0.7% each.

In France, the consumer price index rebounded sharply in February, rising 0.9% from the previous month after a 0.2% decline in January, according to the Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies. The increase was attributed to a sharp rise in energy prices.

In Germany, the number of regular insolvencies filed in the country rose 18.1% in February compared with the same month last year, according to preliminary information from the Federal Statistical Office.

In Italy, the consumer price index increased 0.1% in February from the previous month and 0.8% from a year earlier, according to the Italian National Institute of Statistics.

And in corporate news, UK telecommunications operator Vodafone Group ( VOD ) agreed to sell its Italian mobile phone business to Swisscom in an all-cash deal worth 8 billion euros ($8.72 billion), the companies said Friday. Vodafone share rose nearly 6% in London.

The deal, which is expected to close in Q1 of 2025, is subject to regulatory approvals but does not require a vote by Swisscom shareholders.

Reckitt Benckiser shares fell more than 14% in London after US-based subsidiary Mead Johnson was ordered by a US jury to pay $60 million to the mother of a premature baby who died of an intestinal disease after eating the company's Enfamil baby formula, Reuters reported.

And shares of German real estate firm Vonovia dropped more than 10% on the DAX after it reported a loss of 6.76 billion euros ($7.36 billion) for 2023, compared with a loss of 669.4 million euros a year earlier.