12:16 PM EDT, 05/17/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed mostly lower in Friday trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 declined 0.13%, France's CAC lost 0.26%, the FTSE in London fell 0.22 %, and Germany's DAX dropped 0.17%, while the Swiss Market Index rose 0.76%.

In the euro area, the annual inflation rate in April was 2.4%, unchanged from March and down from 7.0% a year earlier, according to Eurostat. In the EU, the annual inflation rate was 2.6% during the month, which was also unchanged from March and down from 8.1% a year earlier.

The lowest annual inflation rates were in Lithuania (0.4%), Denmark (0.5%) and Finland (0.6%), while the highest annual rates were in Romania (6.2%), Belgium (4.9%) and Croatia (4.7%).

In Germany, the number of employed persons increased 0.1% in Q1 on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with the previous quarter, according to preliminary calculations from the Federal Statistical Office.

In France, the number of unemployed people rose 6,000 in Q1 to 2.3 million people from the previous quarter. The unemployment rate was 7.5%, which was unchanged from the previous quarter, and 0.4 points higher than in Q1 of 2023.

And in corporate news, shares of Swiss luxury goods company Richemont rose more than 5% in Zurich in Friday trading after it reported higher year-over-year sales for fiscal year 2024. The company also named Nicolas Bos, currently chief executive of Van Cleef & Arpels, to the "re-established" position of chief executive of Richemont, starting from June 1.

Amsterdam-based automaker Stellantis said Friday that it named Chris Feuell chief executive of Ram, in addition to her current responsibility as CEO of Chrysler. The company named Matt McAlear CEO of its Dodge brand. Feuell and McAlear will replace Timothy Kuniskis, who is retiring. Stellantis was down nearly 2% in Paris.

Mining stocks rallied in London led by Antofagasta and Fresnillo, which rose 3.6% and 3.4% respectively, followed by Rio Tinto and Endeavour Mining, which gained 2.4% and 2.2% respectively, while Anglo American was up nearly 2%.