11:58 AM EDT, 10/24/2025 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed mostly higher in Friday trading as The Stoxx Europe rose 0.20%, Germany's DAX gained 0.17%, and the FTSE in London was up 0.66%, while the CAC in Paris and the Swiss Market Index ended the week little changed.

The seasonally-adjusted HCOB Flash Eurozone Composite PMI Output index compiled by S&P Global, which gauges business activity in Europe, rose to 52.2 in October from 51.2 in September, and remained above the 50.0 no-change mark for the 10th straight month.

"While the economic situation in Germany brightened significantly in October, the rate of contraction has accelerated for two months in a row in France," Hamburg Commercial Bank Chief Economist Cyrus de la Rubia said in a statement. "As a result, economic growth in the eurozone, even though accelerating a bit, has been much weaker than it otherwise could have been."

In the UK, the Office for National Statistics reported that retail sales rose an estimated 0.9% in Q3 compared with Q2, and attributed the increase to good weather in July and August. Retail sales volumes grew an estimated 0.5% in September, after rising 0.6% the previous month, the ONS said, noting that computer and telecommunications retailers' sales volumes rose "strongly."

And in corporate news, NatWest Group shares increased nearly 5% on the FTSE in London after it reported Q3 earnings Friday of 0.196 British pound ($0.26) per share, up from 0.14 pound a year earlier. Total income for the quarter ended Sept. 30, expressed as the sum of net interest income and noninterest income, was 4.33 billion pounds, up from 3.74 billion pounds a year earlier.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of 0.17 pound and revenue of 4.11 billion pounds.

Sanofi reported Q3 earnings Friday of 2.30 euros ($2.67) per share, up from 2.25 euros a year earlier. Net sales for the quarter ended Sept. 30 were 12.43 billion euros, compared with 12.16 billion euros a year earlier.

Comparable analyst estimates weren't readily available on FactSet.

Shares of Sanofi gained 2.3% on the CAC in Paris.

GSK said the US Food and Drug Administration has approved its Blenrep drug in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone for the treatment of certain adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Reuters said the FDA only cleared one of the two Blenrep treatment combinations for which the company sought approval.

GSK shares were down close to 2% in London trading.

TotalEnergies is weighing the sale of a stake of around 50% in Kyon Energy's battery storage systems in Germany, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The asset could draw investors such as infrastructure funds, one of the sources reportedly said.

TotalEnergies did not immediately reply to a request for comment from MT Newswires.

Shares of the French energy company were off 0.6% in Paris.