The industrial conglomerate may be facing a slow decline, and the next consequence of this could be the German company Bayer, which produces drugs and crops, seeing a 1.41% decrease in their stock.‍ Recently, the inventor of aspirin has been the focus of activist investors. Jeff Ubben's Inclusive Capital Partners revealed their involvement last week. Additionally, Bluebell Capital Partners, a European fund that was involved in the removal of the former CEO of Danone, has also acquired a stake.

European markets were flat on Thursday as investors focused on economic data from the region and the latest signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve on inflation and interest rates.

Asian markets rose on Thursday, with investors appearing unfazed by the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates in order to combat inflation.