The European stock markets closed mostly higher in Thursday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.55%, the FTSE 100 climbed 1.2%% , France's CAC 40 rose 0.30%, the Swiss Market Index advanced 1.04%, while Germany's DAX was down 0.38%.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has won a no-confidence vote regarding an alleged lack of transparency over text messages she exchanged with Pfizer chief executive officer Albert Bourla about vaccine negotiations during the Covid pandemic, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

The censure motion, which requires a two-thirds majority to pass, saw 360 European Parliament lawmakers vote against the move, with 175 voting for and 18 abstaining, the report said.

The European Commission said Thursday it published the final version of an "AI Code of Practice" to help companies comply with the AI Act's rules on general-purpose artificial intelligence.

The code consists of a chapter on transparency that facilitates providers in documenting the needed information in one place and a chapter on copyright that aims to help providers come up with policy complying with EU copyright law, the EU's executive branch said.

In Germany, annual inflation rate in Germany rose 2% in June, according to the Federal Statistical Office , which said it was the lowest rate since October. Compared with May, the inflation rate was unchanged.

"The rate of inflation eased again slightly in June and reached the lowest level registered in the first half of the year," Ruth Brand, President of the Federal Statistical Office, said in a statement. "In addition to the continued decline in energy prices, food price inflation slowed in particular."

And in corporate news, privately owned Italian confectionary company Ferrero has agreed to acquire WK Kellogg Co for $23 per share in cash for a total enterprise value of $3.1 billion. The deal, which is expected to close in H2, includes the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of WK Kellogg's portfolio of breakfast cereals in the US, Canada and the Caribbean, the companies said.

German biotech firm BioNTech and Pfizer urged London's Court of Appeal on Thursday to overturn a ruling that their Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine infringed a Moderna patent related to the messenger RNA technology, Reuters reported. The ruling last year implies Moderna is entitled to damages linked to sales after March 2022, according to the report.

BioNTech and Pfizer didn't immediately respond to requests for comments from MT Newswires.

GSK said Thursday that it has begun shipping doses of its trivalent seasonal influenza vaccines to US health care providers and pharmacies ahead of the 2025-26 flu season. The company said FluLaval and Fluarix will be available in a 0.5 mL, single-dose, pre-filled syringe for people aged at least six months.

Shares of GSK rose 2% in London trading.

The Turkish Competition Authority has fined Alphabet's Google of approximately 355.1 million lira ($8.9 million) for failing to comply with regulatory obligations to remedy its dominant position in search services over local competitors, the agency said Thursday.

Google said in an emailed statement to MT Newswires that it had "made a number of changes" to comply with the agency's decision, and also removed the ads format related to the penalty.

Mining stocks are rallying in Thursday's trading as Glencore and Rio Tinto gained 4% on the FTSE 100, followed by Anglo American, which increased 3.8%, while ArcelorMittal rose 3.6% on the Parisian bourse.