12:21 PM EDT, 05/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets were mostly down at market close Friday as the Stoxx Europe 600 declined 0.17%, the Swiss Market Index fell 0.29%, France's CAC was off 0.09%, the FTSE in London was down 0.22 %, and Germany's DAX gained 0.2%.

In Germany, the gross domestic product rose 0.2% in Q1 compared with the previous quarter, adjusted for price, seasonal, and calendar effects, according to the German Federal Statistical Office

"After GDP declined at the end of 2023, the German economy started 2024 with a positive sign," Ruth Brand, president of the German FSO, said in a statement.

In the UK, retail sales volume fell 2.3% in April following a 0.2% decline in March, according to the Office for National Statistics. Sales volume fell among most sectors, with clothing retailers, sports equipment, games and toys stores, and furniture stores among the worst. During the three months to April, sales volume rose 0.7% compared with the trailing three months, but fell 0.8% compared with the same period a year earlier.

In France, the business climate in May was unchanged from April, according to the Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, whose index tracking the country's business climate was at 99 for both months, just below its long-term average of 100.

In Switzerland, total employment increased 1.8% in Q1, compared with the year-ago quarter, according to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office.

And in corporate news, Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic reduced the risk of major kidney disease events and death from cardiovascular causes in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease, according to a study published Friday by The New England Journal of Medicine. The company's shares were down 1% in Germany.

Shares of Renault closed 5% higher in Paris after the French automaker said Friday that it was launching a buyback program to repurchase up to 2 million shares.

And UK oil and gas giant Shell's downstream assets in South Africa may attract bids from Abu Dhabi National Oil and Aramco, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. Shell was down slightly in London.