11:49 AM EDT, 06/04/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets were higher in Thursday trading as The Stoxx Europe rose 0.3%, Germany's DAX gained 0.3%, the FTSE 100 edged 0.1% higher, France's CAC increased 0.8%, and the Swiss Market Index advanced 1%.

The S&P Global Eurozone Construction PMI Total Activity Index, which gauges monthly changes in total industry activity, rose to 43.7 in May from 41.7 in April, which is a softer, albeit still sharp contraction in activity in the euro area construction sector.

"Anecdotal evidence suggested that difficulty sourcing and receiving inputs due to shipping delays, amid higher fuel and transportation costs, were key reasons behind disruption to the sector," Usamah Bhatti, Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a statement. "These were often linked to the residual disruption caused by the war in the Middle East."

And in corporate news, shares of British banks HSBC and Standard Chartered, and insurance giant Prudential fell on the FTSE in London trading after the South China Morning Post reported that mainland Chinese residents are facing greater constraints on opening offshore investment accounts through major Hong Kong banks.

The Shanghai branch of Bank of East Asia suspended its witness service for opening Hong Kong investment accounts due to tighter oversight of capital outflows by Chinese authorities, according to the report.

HSBC, Standard Chartered and Prudential did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' requests for comment.

Shares of Standard Chartered and HSBC dropped 3.3% and 2% respectively, while Prudential shares were more than 7% lower.

BHP Group's BHP Canada subsidiary signed transportation agreements with Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City that will help move potash from its Jansen project in Saskatchewan to Westshore Terminals in Vancouver for export.

Both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific will operate unit trains between Jansen and Westshore Terminals under roughly four-year contracts, BHP said.

Shares of the mining company dropped 2.4% in London.