-- The European stock markets were mixed in Thursday trading as investors keep a wary eye on developments in the Middle East, while European Union and Euro Area inflation rises sharply from soaring oil prices spurred by the Middle East war.
The Stoxx Europe was marginally lower, Germany's DAX was up 0.4%, the FTSE 100 was rising 0.3%, France's CAC was 0.1% higher, and the Swiss Market Index was off 0.3%.
Euro area annual inflation surged to 2.6% in March from 1.9% in February, and 2.2% a year earlier, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the EU, annual inflation jumped to 2.8% in March from 2.1% in February, and 2.5% a year earlier.
The lowest annual rates were in Denmark at 1.0%, followed by Czechia, Cyprus and Sweden at 1.5% each. Meanwhile, the highest annual rates were in Romania at 9.0%, followed by Croatia and Lithuania at 4.6% and 4.4% respectively.
Compared with February, inflation rose in 23 of the 27 EU member states, fell in three, and was unchanged in one.
In the UK, GDP growth was 0.5% in February up from 0.1% in January, according to the Office for National Statistics, which said the sharp increase was spurred mainly by growth in mining and quarrying. The reading easily topped analyst forecasts of 0.1%, according to Bloomberg.
And in corporate news, Stellantis plans a 100-million-euro ($117.9 million) investment to overhaul its Poissy assembly plant near Paris in a bid to keep the facility open, Bloomberg News reported Thursday. The company will continue producing vehicles at the facility through at least the end of 2028, according to the report.
Stellantis didn't immediately respond to' request for comment.
Stellantis also said Thursday that it has signed a five-year strategic collaboration deal with Microsoft to co-develop advanced artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and engineering capabilities for the automaker's cars.
Shares of the automaker were declining 0.9% in Paris.
TotalEnergies said Thursday that Q1 exploration and production results are expected to rise significantly, supported by higher oil prices and contributions from new projects.
Integrated liquefied natural gas results are also projected to be significantly higher sequentially, driven by a 10% increase in production and strong trading activity. Downstream results are expected to improve as well, supported by higher refining utilization rate and robust trading.
Shares of the French energy company were up 0.7% in Paris.
Equinor said Thursday it expects stronger Q1 results in its marketing, midstream, and processing division. The company projects the division's average quarterly adjusted operating income at around $400 million.
"Result this (Q1) is expected to be above this guidance," Equinor said. "The conflict in the Persian Gulf has driven significant volatility across crude, products and liquids towards the end of the quarter."
Shares of the Norwegian petroleum refiner were trading 1.2% higher in Oslo.
Royal Philips said Thursday that it has received a 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration for its Spectral CT Verida system.
Verida is a computed tomography X-ray system intended for diagnostic imaging in radiology, interventional radiology, among others, Royal Philips said. The submission is intended to demonstrate to the FDA that a medical device is as safe and effective as a legally marketed device, according to the government agency.
Shares of the healthcare tech company were off 0.1% in Amsterdam.
Opera said Thursday it has launched Browser Connector, a new feature in Opera One and Opera GX that integrates artificial intelligence tools directly into live browsing sessions via model context protocol.
The company said the feature provides AI services such as ChatGPT and Claude with real-time context from open tabs and active content.
Shares of the internet browser company increased 5.6% in Frankfurt.