The European stock markets closed lower in Wednesday trading amid easing bond yields and oil prices that keep rising.
The Stoxx Europe declined 0.4%, Germany's DAX lost 0.7%, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.2%, France's CAC fell 0.9%, and the Swiss Market Index decreased 0.4%.
UK economic growth, as gauged by its gross domestic product, decelerated slightly in Q2 to 0.5% from 0.6% in Q1, according to the Office for National Statistics. Compared with a year earlier, GDP was up 1.4%.
In corporate news, Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil and China National Petroleum face a $5.2 billion fine for alleged environmental abuses, after renewed enforcement proceedings started Tuesday by Kazakhstan authorities, the news service Interfax reported Wednesday, citing the Justice Ministry's online database.
The four oil giants operate the North Caspian Operating Company in the Kashagan, an offshore field in the Caspian Sea, and have disputed the fine, which Kazakh authorities have attempted to impose over alleged sulphur-storage violations, reported Reuters on Wednesday.
Representatives from TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil and Shell did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MT Newswires.
Shares of Shell declined 0.7% in London, while TotalEnergies' shares lost 2.1% in Paris.
Novo Nordisk said Wednesday that adults with overweight or obesity who switched from injectable tirzepatide or semaglutide to once-daily oral Wegovy lost an average of 4.1%, or 8.8 pounds, after three months, according to real-world data from the OCTANE study.
The analysis, based on de-identified data from Ro's telehealth platform, included patients who remained on treatment for three months.
The share of patients with obesity fell from 87.1% at baseline to 65.5% after three months, the company said.
Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical company rose 0.6% in Copenhagen.
Deutsche Bank is planning a potential risk transfer tied to subscription-line loans as it expands securitization to hedge credit risk, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The transaction could involve about $2 billion of subscription lines, although terms and the size may change based on investor discussions, the report said. Subscription lines provide short-term financing to private equity and credit firms until they can call capital from limited partners, the report added.
Deutsche Bank declined MT Newswires' request for comment.
Shares of Deutsche Bank gained 0.2% in Frankfurt.
ArcelorMittal is considering a 5 billion Brazilian reais ($960.8 million) expansion of its Pecem steel mill in Brazil and expects to make a final investment decision by the end of the year, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing a senior company executive.
Jorge Oliveira, CEO of ArcelorMittal's Brazilian operations, said the proposed investment would increase the plant's annual capacity by 1.5 million metric tons through a new hot-rolled coil line, according to the report.
ArcelorMittal said it flagged the potential Pecem investment opportunity in its H1 financial results presentation in July. The company declined to provide additional details to MT Newswires.
Shares of ArcelorMittal dropped 0.8% in Paris.