The European stock markets closed mixed in Thursday trading as investors parsed somewhat hawkish commentary from new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, as well as prospects for a tighter US monetary policy.
The Stoxx Europe declined 0.4%, Germany's DAX gained 0.3%, the FTSE 100 fell 1.1%, France's CAC rose 0.4%, and the Swiss Market Index closed 0.5% lower.
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted 7 to 2 to maintain interest rates at 3.75%. The two dissenters voted to increase rates by 25 basis points to 4%.
And in corporate news, HSBC has been ordered by Australia's Federal Court to pay a 35 million Australian dollars ($24.6 million) penalty after admitting to serious failures in protecting customers from scams, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission said Thursday.
The commission said the court found the bank failed to implement key scam-prevention controls on an internal payment system where most customer losses occurred, took an average of 144 days to investigate scam reports, and did not properly apply rules determining whether customers or the bank should bear scam-related losses.
Shares of the British bank edged 0.1% lower in London.
BHP said Thursday that it expects to record an impairment charge of about $2.3 billion related to its investment in the Jansen project after increasing the estimated cost of the Jansen Stage 2 expansion.
The company said it now expects the total investment estimate for the Jansen Stage 2 potash project in Canada to be $6.9 billion, up from $4.9 billion, with first production expected in late 2031. BHP said the higher cost is due to additional construction labor requirements, increased material needs, and inflation-related cost increases.
BHP shares dropped more than 4% in London.
Rio Tinto's copper concentrate deliveries from its Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia have returned to normal levels after a brief interruption, the company's local unit said in a post on X.
Shipments were temporarily interrupted due to a blockade of a key road by protesters, Bloomberg said Thursday.
Shares of the mining major dropped 2.8% in London.
Nokia's defense unit and European defense company KNDS said Thursday they are collaborating to provide 5G connectivity for combat vehicles.
As part of the partnership, KNDS will integrate Nokia's Banshee deployable 5G-based technology into its VBCI armored infantry fighting vehicles, the companies said.
Shares of the Finnish telecommunications company were off 2% in Helsinki.
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