11:57 AM EDT, 07/16/2026 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed mostly lower in Thursday trading, with the Stoxx 600 fractionally lower, Germany's DAX shedding 0.5%, the UK's FTSE 100 advancing 0.5%, France's CAC 40 shedding 0.1%, and the Swiss Market Index down 0.4%.

In geopolitical news, the US unleashed another round of strikes against Iran. US Central Command said in a post on X that it completed another wave of attacks against Iran, holding the nation "accountable" at the direction of President Donald Trump. Iran warned that it would hit key infrastructure in the Gulf region if the US followed through on Trump's threats on Tuesday to strike Iranian infrastructure such as bridges and power plants if progress on peace talks was not achieved.

Brent Crude was little changed at $84.96.

In economic news, UK gross domestic product rose 0.1% in May, according to the Office for National Statistics. The UK economy is estimated to have expanded 0.7% in the three months to May.

In corporate news, Meta Platforms has selected Sodexo to provide workplace food services across more than 130 locations in over 30 countries, including corporate offices, campuses, data centers and conference hubs, Sodexo said Thursday. The company said the contract is one of the largest global workplace food services agreements it has secured and will be implemented progressively in the coming months. Sodexo shares gained 2.2% in Paris.

Uber on Thursday disclosed its acquisition offer to buy Berlin-based Delivery Hero in a deal representing an equity value of $14.8 billion, or $13.7 billion adjusted for Uber's prior stake purchases. Under the terms of the deal, Uber will offer Delivery Hero shareholders cash consideration of 41.50 euros ($47.60) per share that they hold. Delivery Hero shares were fractionally higher in Frankfurt.

TotalEnergies expects Q2 hydrocarbon production to be nearly 2.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, supported by about 4% organic growth, the company said Thursday. Average liquids price is expected to be $91.60 per barrel, compared with $73.70/bbl in Q1 and $65.60/bbl a year ago. Average gas price in Q2 is expected to drop to $5.55 per million British thermal unit from $5.59/MMBtu in Q1 and $5.63/MMBtu a year ago. TotalEnergies shares fell 1.5% in Paris.

UBS hired former Goldman Sachs managing director Takehiro Sakuramoto to head its debt capital markets division in Japan, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing an internal memo. The investment bank plans to pursue underwriting mandates for Japanese corporate bonds with an initial emphasis on foreign currency-denominated debt, the report said. UBS shares declined 2.1% in Zurich.

Grifols has dosed the first patients in two separate phase 3 trials aiming to expand the US labels for Gamunex-C, an intravenous immunoglobulin, and Xembify, a subcutaneous immunoglobulin. The Sigma trial will evaluate the impact, efficacy, and safety of Gamunex-C in combination with standard of care treatment to prevent infections in patients with secondary immunodeficiency characterized by low immunoglobulin levels, the company said. Grifols shares rose 1.2% in Spain.

Alphabet's Google may be held liable for YouTube videos promoting online gambling if they were uploaded by a content creator with whom the company had a commercial partnership, the EU's top court ruled Thursday. The ruling arose from Google's challenge to a 750,000 euro ($859,984) fine imposed by Italy's communications regulator AGCOM over YouTube videos promoting online gambling.