European stock markets closed mostly higher in Monday trading as the Stoxx Europe gained 0.4%, Germany's DAX climbed 1.6%, France's CAC advanced 1.4%, the Swiss Market Index edged 0.1% higher, while the FTSE 100 was off 0.3%.
The S&P Global Eurozone Manufacturing PMI, which gauges the eurozone's manufacturing sector's health, expanded to 51.9 in July, from 51.4 in June, which is the strongest improvement in factory operating conditions since April. Factory production volumes in the euro area increased at its fastest rate since March 2022.
In corporate news, AstraZeneca is in talks with Bristol Myers Squibb about a potential combination that would create a pharmaceutical company valued at nearly $400 billion, the Financial Times reported Sunday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
According to the report, the companies have held discussions in recent months, though a deal could still be delayed or fail to materialize.
Shares of the British pharmaceutical company fell 8.6% in London.
UBS' UBS Financial Services unit was assessed a $125 million civil money penalty for alleged violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, the US Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said Monday.
The agency said UBS Financial Services failed to properly monitor foreign currency wire transfers involving more than $10 billion, conduct adequate customer due diligence, and timely report suspicious activity. Under the settlement, the agency said UBS Financial Services agreed to an independent assessment of its anti-money laundering program.
UBS did not immediately respond to' request for comment.
Shares of the Swiss bank were little changed in Zurich.
Shell has agreed to sell its European onshore renewables portfolio to Total Energies, the oil giant disclosed Monday.
No price tag was disclosed on the transaction, which is expected to conclude in 2026, and which includes 500 megawatts of renewable generation capacity that is either operating or being built in the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.
In addition, the Paris-based Total Energies said it will acquire from a Shell a 3.5 gigawatt pipeline of unbuilt solar, wind and battery storage projects in Italy, the UK and Spain.
Separately, Total Energies also disclosed the sale of a 50% stake in a 1.2 gigawatt onshore solar and wind portfolio in Europe to an insurance arm of US-based investment house KKR. A sale price was not disclosed, but Total Energies said it retains a 50% stake the assets sold to KKR, and the whole portfolio has an enterprise value of 1.8 billion euros.
Shares of Shell gained 0.4% in London, while shares of Total Energies edged 0.1% lower in Paris.
BP has completed the sale of its Gelsenkirchen refinery and related businesses in Germany to Klesch Group, the company said Monday.
The divestment supports its focus on disciplined capital allocation and is expected to reduce underlying operating expenses by about $1 billion.
The sale includes the Horst and Scholven refinery sites and the Bottrop tank farm.
Shares of BP declined 0.5% in London.
EasyJet extended the deadline for Castlelake to decide whether to make an offer for the budget carrier until Aug. 7 from Aug. 3, aligning it with the deadline set for Apollo Global Management EasyJet said in a stock filing Monday.
On July 10, Apollo and EasyJet reached an agreement in principle on the key financial terms of a possible cash offer to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of EasyJet for 7.15 British pounds ($9.62) per share.
Shares of the British airline rose more than 2% in London.
Anheuser-Busch InBev shareholder Eugenie Patri Sebastien sold about a 731 million-euro ($842.4 million) stake in the company earlier this year, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing the transaction's terms.
According to the report, the sale was carried out through a block trade of about 10 million shares at 73.10 euros each.
InBev did not respond to' request for a comment.
Shares of the brewing company fell 2.3% in Brussels.
British online sports betting and gambling company Flutter Entertainment said Monday it completed the removal of its shares from the Official List of the UK Financial Conduct Authority and the London Stock Exchange main market.
The company's stock is now exclusively listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the company said.