11:59 AM EDT, 06/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed lower in Tuesday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 was off 0.29%, the Swiss Market Index dropped 0.58%, France's CAC fell 0.58%, the FTSE in London lost 0.41%, and Germany's DAX closed 0.89% lower.

The European Central Bank said Tuesday that carbon emissions associated with corporate sector portfolios held by Eurosystem, the monetary authority of the eurozone, have continued to decline.

"The data on Eurosystem holdings for 2023 points towards continued progress," ECB President Christine Lagarde wrote in the forward to the central bank's latest climate-related financial disclosure report, which was released Tuesday.

The Danish government said Tuesday that it will introduce the world's first tax on livestock carbon dioxide emissions beginning in 2030, according to media reports.

And in corporate news, the European Commission said Tuesday that it has notified Microsoft that a preliminary review indicates the tech giant breached EU antitrust rules by bundling its communication and collaboration tool, Teams, with its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites, the regulator said Tuesday.

"Having unbundled Teams and taken initial interoperability steps, we appreciate the additional clarity provided today and will work to find solutions to address the Commission's remaining concerns," a Microsoft spokesperson quoted Vice Chair and President Brad Smith in an emailed statement.

Stellantis will stop producing vehicles in the UK if the British government does not lower sales targets for electric vehicles, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing Stellantis UK Group Managing Director Maria Grazia Davino. Stellantis did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk said Tuesday that its Wegovy weight loss weekly injectable drug has been approved in China for long-term weight management. Shares of Novo Nordisk closed more than 4% higher on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said Tuesday a phase 3 trial of its cancer drug Imfinzi combined with chemotherapy showed "statistically significant and clinically meaningful" improvement in the primary endpoint of event-free survival in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

And Spanish bank Banco Santander sold about 300 million euros ($321 million) in hotel loans to Polus Capital Management in June, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.