European Stocks Close Mixed in Tuesday Trading Amid Ongoing Unrest in France, Fighting in Middle East

11:43 AM EDT, 10/20/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed mixed in Tuesday trading amid ongoing civil unrest in France and continuing hostilities in the Middle East. The Stoxx Europe edged up 0.1%, Germany's was off 0.1%, the FTSE 100 declined 0.3%, France's CAC lost 0.2%, and the Swiss Market Index gained 0.9%. In corporate news, GSK said Monday the US Food and Drug Administration approved Jemperli for adults with microsatellite instability-high or mismatch repair deficient locally advanced rectal cancer. In a phase 2 trial of 144 patients, 68% were free of detectable cancer without surgery one year after starting treatment, and no responders saw the disease return after a median of more than two years, the company said. The FDA granted approval under an accelerated pathway, and serious side effects affected 20% of patients, and 3% stopped treatment permanently, it added. Shares of the British pharmaceutical company gained 0.7% in London. Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary expects much higher European airfares in 2027 if the Middle East conflict keeps oil prices elevated, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday. Airfares could rise up to 20% next year, Bloomberg cited O'Leary from a press conference in Brussels. Most European airlines, including Ryanair, lack significant hedging to protect against higher oil prices amid reduced capacity next year, the Ryanair boss was cited as saying. On the same day, Ryanair unveiled a "substantially reduced" winter 2026 schedule for Belgium that includes the loss of 1.1 million seats and the closure of 20 routes across Brussels Charleroi and Zaventem Airports, according to a company statement. These cuts are a "direct" result of a decision to raise Belgium's aviation tax by 250% as of January next year from two years ago, making the country "hopelessly uncompetitive against [its] tax free, cost-reducing EU neighbors," the company said. O'Leary also expects US certification of Boeing's 737 MAX 10 by October's end, paving the way for 16 deliveries in early 2027, Reuters reported Tuesday. Ryanair and Boeing didn't immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment. Shares of the Irish airline climbed 2.4% in Dublin. Nokia said Tuesday it has agreed with SoftBank to conduct a commercial trial of artificial intelligence radio access network technology in Japan in 2027. The company said the trial will combine its anyRAN software with SoftBank's AITRAS platform and Nvidia's Aerial RAN Computer technology. Nokia said the trial would assess how AI and radio network workloads can run on shared computing infrastructure, potentially improving resource use and supporting new AI-based services. Shares of Nokia dropped 2% in Helsinki. Sanofi struck a collaboration and licensing agreement with ScionxBio to develop long-acting xRNA therapeutics by leveraging the latter's TERA platform, ScionxBio said Tuesday. ScionxBio said it will lead activities up to in vivo validation stages, and Sanofi will then assume responsibility for remaining preclinical activities, studies, clinical development, manufacturing, and worldwide commercialization. The company said the programs are focused on conditions where sustained protein expression is important for clinical effects. Shares of the French pharmaceutical company advanced 3.5% in Paris. Eni has launched the start-up activities of the Meleiha phase 2 project in Egypt's Western Desert through its Agiba Petroleum with the state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, the company said Tuesday. The project aims to create a new gas hub within the Merged Meleiha concession and will increase the gas processing capacity to up to 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, the company said. Shares of the Italian oil and gas major declined 1% in Milan.