The European stock markets closed lower in Wednesday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 was off 0.72%, Germany's DAX was down 0.61%, the FTSE 100 declined 0.46%, France's CAC 40 dropped 0.76%, and the Swiss Market Index lost 0.91%.

In Spain, GDP volume grew 0.6% in Q1 compared with the previous quarter, and 2.8% on an annual basis, compared with 3.3% in Q4 of 2024, according to the Spanish Statistical Institute. Both readings matched analyst forecasts, according to Bloomberg.

In France, households' opinion on their past personal financial situation has remained unchanged in June from May at 88, according to the Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies' consumer confidence index. The index remains well off its historical average of 100.

And in corporate news, Shell is engaged in early talks to acquire rival British oil giant BP, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Representatives from both companies are engaged in active talks, and BP is carefully considering the approach, the people reportedly told The WSJ.

Shell and BP did not immediately reply to requests for comment from MT Newswires.

Shares of Shell and BP were down close to 1% each on the FTSE 100 in London.

Novo Nordisk is under investigation by Spain's ministry of health over its website communications on its weight-loss drug, it emerged Wednesday. The Spanish government body said the communications on the website "could be considered as covert advertising of prescription drugs, which is prohibited by current legislation," according to a translation of a June 19 statement.

Shares of Novo Nordisk dropped nearly 4% in Copenhagen.

UBS Group is merging its mergers and acquisitions unit with its sponsor advisory group as part of the bank's restructuring plans, Bloomberg reported Wednesday citing an internal company memo. The combined unit will be headed by Jeff Hinton and Nestor Paz-Galindo, who are currently the co-leaders of UBS' M&A division, according to the report.

Shares of UBS gained 0.31% on the SIX Swiss Exchange.

Apple plans to make changes to its App Store to satisfy European Union regulators that issued an ultimatum to the company and issued a 500 million euros ($581.1 million) fine, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. The European Commission declined to comment, while Apple did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.