European stock markets closed higher in Friday trading as oil prices fell and the UK reported that its gross domestic product grew more than expected.

The Stoxx Europe gained 0.5%, Germany's DAX rose 0.8%, the FTSE 100 increased 0.4%, France's CAC was up 0.8%, and the Swiss Market Index closed 0.3% higher.

In the UK, monthly real GDP grew an estimated 0.4% in July, following growth of 0.3% in June, and no growth in May, according to the UK's Office for National Statistics. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expected GDP growth to be flat.

Services output grew by 0.4%, production grew by 0.2%, and construction grew by 0.1%.

In corporate news, Stellantis' Pro One division and China's UQI Robotics agreed on a collaboration to explore last-mile logistics using autonomous delivery services, the companies said on Friday.

Under the collaboration, the companies said they will explore the further development of Box-on-Wheels, Stellantis' autonomous logistics vehicle set to debut on Monday at the IAA Transportation 2026 event in Hanover, Germany.

The companies will focus initially on the European market but explore additional international opportunities, they said.

Shares of the automaker advanced 2.6% in Paris.

TotalEnergies has agreed to acquire Plastic Energy's 35% stake in the Grandpuits advanced plastics recycling plant in France, making it the sole owner of the facility, the company said Friday.

The plant, which started production in March, has annual capacity to process 15,000 tons of hard-to-recycle plastic waste into synthetic oil through a pyrolysis process.

Meanwhile the French oil and gas major, along with Equinor, and ConocoPhillips, are among the companies to have submitted bids by the Sept. 1 deadline for new production licenses, the Norwegian Ministry of Energy said Friday. The ministry expanded its predefined drilling area in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, and the Barents Sea by 70 blocks.

Shares of TotalEnergies increased 0.3% in Paris, while shares of Equinor were up 0.4% in Oslo.

UBS Group has accepted $7.93 billion aggregate principal amount of notes in its cash tender offers for nine series of debt securities and upsized its maximum offer amount to about $5.85 billion from $4 billion, the company said Friday.

The offers expired at 5 pm ET Thursday, with settlement expected Monday.

The company said all maximum purchase notes that have been validly tendered by the expiration date have been accepted for purchase. The accepted notes include securities denominated in US dollars, euros and British pounds, with maturities from 2028 through 2033, UBS said.

Shares of the Swiss bank gained 1.3% in Zurich.

Shell disclosed on Thursday that it had acquired 100% of Hunlock Creek Generating, which owns 169 megawatts of natural gas-fired generation capacity in Pennsylvania. No terms were disclosed.

The London-based energy giant Shell also disclosed it has agreed to sell interests in RISEC, which owns a 609-MW, two-unit combined cycle gas turbine power plant in New England, to Constellation Energy Generation (CEG), for $715 million.

Both transactions are expected to close Q1 2027, Shell added.

Equinor and Shell's joint venture Adura said Friday it is waiting for a UK government decision for its Jackdaw and Rosebank projects after public consultation closed last month.

"Following the closure of public consultation of Jackdaw and Rosebank last month, we now await a government decision on consent to allow the two projects to move forward to production. The Jackdaw platform is installed in the North Sea and, subject to receiving consent, could be supplying gas to British homes and businesses within weeks," an Adura spokesperson said in an email.

A UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson told MT Newswires in an e-mail statement that the department does not comment on speculation and has not set a timeline for the decision.

"Any decision will take into account all relevant evidence, including environmental assessments and public representations received during the consultation process," the spokesperson said.

Shares of Shell increased 0.4% in London.