The European stock markets closed higher in Thursday trading as data show Euro area and EU inflation accelerated in August, while the Bank of England held rates steady.

The Stoxx Europe rose 0.9%, Germany's DAX advanced 0.8%, the FTSE 100 gained 1.2%, France's CAC increased 0.6%, and the Swiss Market Index closed 0.6% higher.

The annual inflation rate in the euro area rose to 3.2% in August from 2.9% in July and from 2.0% a year earlier, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. EU inflation also increased to 3.2% during the month from 3.0% in July, and from 2.4% a year earlier.

The lowest annual rates were in Sweden (0.3%), Estonia (1.3%) and Czechia (1.5%), while the highest rates were in Romania (6.3%), Lithuania (5.6%) and Cyprus (5.2%). Compared with July, the annual inflation rate rose in 20 member countries, fell in six, and remained unchanged in one.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted 6 to 3 to maintain the Bank Rate at 3.75%. The three dissenting members voted to increase the rate by 25 basis points.

In corporate news, UBS Group faces a potential capital requirement of as much as $20 billion as Switzerland's upper house delayed a vote on proposed banking rules to Sept. 23, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

The draft law would require UBS to back the full value of its foreign subsidiaries with high-quality CET1 capital in Switzerland, the report said.

UBS did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Shares of the Swiss lender increased 0.3% in Zurich.

Novo Nordisk signed a strategic collaboration and license agreement with Orbis Medicines to develop oral macrocycle therapeutics for cardiometabolic diseases, Orbis said Thursday.

Under the agreement, Orbis Medicines said it could receive up to $1.4 billion in upfront and potential development and commercial milestone payments, in addition to tiered royalties on future product sales.

Orbis said that Novo will also make a strategic investment in the company.

Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical company climbed 2.5% in Copenhagen.

BP is set to resume talks with the United Steelworkers union representing workers at its Whiting refinery on Thursday, the company said Wednesday.

The BP Whiting refinery and elected representatives of United Steelworkers Local 7-1 previously met on Monday to discuss an agreement, including proposals to modernize job structures.

The British company said it is proposing a six-year agreement, an extended 150-day industrial peace clause before any future strike or lockout after the contract expiration, and wage increases that would raise pay by an average of 13% over the first four years of the contract.

Shares of the oil and gas major declined 0.5% in London.

Barclays employees are speaking out against a scheme to draw thousands of workers back to the office, the Financial Times reported Thursday.

Currently, those who live more than 40 minutes away are required to come into the office twice a week, but Barclays wants to up it to three days a week, with senior officials expected to come in at least four days, the report said.

Unite, a union representing 80% of the bank's 45,000 UK personnel, is calling for the plans to be shelved, and has encouraged workers to sign an open letter opposing the plans, the report said.

Barclays did not immediately reply to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Shares of Barclays rose 0.7% in London.

AstraZeneca's breast cancer drug Enhertu, developed with Daiichi Sankyo, received a recommendation from UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for routine use through the National Health Service, the agency said Thursday.

The recommendation covers around 1,000 people with HER2-low advanced breast cancer whose disease has progressed following treatment, NICE said.

Shares of the British pharmaceutical company advanced 2.4% in London.

Nokia is extending its partnership with Microsoft on network automation, including the development of an agentic, AI-driven operations platform for telecommunications providers, the company said Thursday.

The collaboration combines Nokia's telco data products with Microsoft Fabric's analytics and AI capabilities, allowing operators to access data in minutes instead of weeks, the company said.

Shares of the Finnish telecommunications company surged 4.7% in Helsinki.