12:00 PM EDT, 06/17/2026 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed mostly higher Wednesday as the Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.5%, the Swiss Market Index rose 0.4%, and Germany's DAX 40 and the FTSE 100 each rose 0.1%, while France's CAC 40 fell 0.2%,

The annual inflation rate in the euro area rose to 3.2% in May from 3% in April, and 1.9% a year earlier, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU. Annual EU inflation increased to 3.3% from 3.2% in April and 2.2% a year earlier

The lowest annual rate was in Sweden at 1.1%, while the highest was 9.7% in Romania. Compared with April, annual inflation rose in 16 member states and fell in 11.

In corporate news, Novo Nordisk said it is aware of claims by cyber extortion group FulcrumSec that it stole company data and sought a $25 million payment, Reuters reported Tuesday.

FulcrumSec said it spent more than two months inside Novo Nordisk's systems and obtained source code, drug information, clinical trial data and other internal records, the report said. The group said it is exploring sales of some of the data after the company declined to pay the ransom, the report said.

Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical company gained 2% in Copenhagen.

Stellantis pledged new investments in Italy, including 5 billion euros ($5.8 billion) in research and development by 2030 and the addition of engineering jobs, Bloomberg reported, citing FIM-CISL labor union secretary general Ferdinando Uliano.

Separately, Stellantis, Wayve, and Uber Technologies are collaborating on the development and global deployment of Level 4 autonomous robotaxi services.

Shares of Stellantis lost 3% in Paris.

Ferrari is encouraging some clients to buy its new Luce electric vehicle as a way to improve access to future limited-edition models, Bloomberg reported.

Shares of the Italian luxury sportscar maker fell 3% in Milan.

Nokia plans to expand its advanced semiconductor test and packaging facilities in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to increase the manufacturing of photonic chips for AI networks.

Shares of the Finnish telecommunications company rose 0.3% in Helsinki.