12:06 PM EDT, 03/27/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets were tracking lower in Thursday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 lost 0.41%, Germany's DAX fell 0.77%, the FTSE 100 in London dropped 0.60%, France's CAC 40 was down 0.57%, and the Swiss Market Index declined 0.86%.

The European Union is readying its response to US President Donald Trump's newly announced tariffs on imported vehicles, Reuters reported Thursday, citing European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill. Gill said the European Union's response to the tariffs will be "timely," as well as "robust" and "well calibrated," according to Reuters. A spokesperson for Gill didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from MT Newswires.

The UK government is in "extensive" talks with the US about tariff policy, finance minister Rachel Reeves said in an interview with Sky News on Thursday. Reeves said the UK does not want to "escalate" Donald Trump's trade wars, following the US president's announcement late Wednesday of 25% tariffs on "foreign-made cars."

In Norway, central bank Norges Bank's Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee has decided to maintain its key interest rate unchanged at 4.5%. "There is uncertainty about further economic developments, but as the Committee now assesses the outlook, the key policy rate will most likely be lowered during the year," Norges Bank said.

And in corporate news, BP is considering selling its minority stakes in two projects in the Gulf of Mexico, Reuters reported Thursday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. The sources told Reuters that the British oil and gas giant could bring in partners in its Kaksida and Tiber projects in the Gulf of Mexico, which the US recognizes as the Gulf of America, and sell as much as a 50% stake in each. BP didn't immediately respond to a comment request from MT Newswires.

Meta Platforms' WhatsApp Ireland should be allowed to challenge a European Data Protection Board decision to impose a higher fine on WhatsApp over data privacy breaches, according to a legal opinion Thursday for the Court of Justice for the European Union. The Irish data protection agency fined WhatsApp 225 million euros ($242.7 million) in 2021 for complaints regarding data privacy breaches. The European Data Protection Board intervened and ordered an increase in the penalty.

Blackstone's Blackstone Europe unit's 115 British pence per share ($1.48) takeover proposal could be recommended to Warehouse REIT's shareholders if the asset manager puts a firm offer, the latter said Thursday. The offer values Warehouse REIT at roughly 489 million pounds, or 115 pence per share.