European stock markets closed higher in Friday trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.44%, Germany's DAX increased 0.63%, the FTSE 100 was up 0.27%, France's CAC 40 advanced 0.64%, and the Swiss Market Index gained 0.21%.

Newly elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday in Brussels that individual European Union nations won't strike side deals with the US, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said any serious talks with the Trump administration require a concrete proposal, Bloomberg reported.

In economic news, Switzerland, the consumer sentiment index for April declined to 42 points, compared with 46 points a year earlier, according to the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.

In Italy, the seasonally adjusted industrial production index increased 0.1% in March compared with the previous month, according to the Italian National Institute of Statistics. Production was 0.4% higher over the last three months compared with the previous three months.

And in corporate news, British oil and gas giant BP may be at risk of a takeover after a significant drop in its share price left the UK energy giant undervalued, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Adnoc, and oil trader Vitol have each reviewed BP's business, with some conducting internal valuations, the FT reported.

Shares of BP rose nearly 5% in Friday's trading on the FTSE in London, while Shell's stock gained a little under 1%. Shares of TotalEnergies were up 1.6% in Paris.

Swiss financial services company UBS is in talks to sell its hedge fund unit O'Connor to Cantor Fitzgerald, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal could include a possible revenue-sharing agreement, according to the report.

Shares of UBS closed 0.7% higher on the SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich.

AstraZeneca said Friday that its late-stage trial of its therapy, Imfinzi, when combined with standard BCG induction and maintenance therapy, showed significantly improved disease-free survival in patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Shares of the British pharmaceutical company gained 0.8% in London trading.