12:06 PM EDT, 08/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed lower in Tuesday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.45%, France's CAC lost 0.22%, the FTSE in London dropped 1%, Germany's DAX closed 0.35% lower, and the Swiss Market Index was off 0.07%.

The euro area annual inflation rate was 2.6% in July, up from 2.5% in June, and down from 5.3% a year earlier, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Annual inflation in the EU rose to 2.8% in July from 2.6% in June and was down from 6.1% during the year-ago month. The lowest annual rates were in Finland (0.5%), Latvia (0.8%) and Denmark (1.0%), while the highest annual rates were in Romania (5.8%), Belgium (5.4%) and Hungary (4.1%). Compared with June, annual inflation fell in nine member countries, rose in 14, and was unchanged in four.

Eurostat also reported that seasonally adjusted production in construction increased 1.7% in the euro area and 1.4% in the EU. Compared with June 2023, production in construction increased 1.0% in the euro area and decreased 0.1% in the EU.

The European Commission said Tuesday that it has lowered its import duties for Tesla vehicles made in China to 9% from 20.8%. Last month, the EC set duty rates for importers of battery electric vehicles made in China, which included a 37.6% rate for SAIC, 19.9% for Geely, and 17.4% for BYD. It also said that other BEV makers that cooperated in the EC's investigation, which included Tesla, would be subject to 20.8% weighted average duty.

And in corporate news, shares of BT Group dropped 6.4% in London after one if its main clients Sky agreed to roll out broadband services on a network run by a rival of the telecoms giant. Sky, which offers content as part of Comcast, will launch services on independent operator CityFibre's network beginning in 2025.

Amsterdam-based automaker Stellantis said Tuesday that it has notified the United Auto Workers union that it has delayed plans to reopen its Belvidere assembly plant in Illinois.

Danish biotech firm Genmab said Monday that the European Commission has granted conditional approval for Tepkinly to treat adults with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy. Tepkinly, which is codeveloped with AbbVie, is approved to treat relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after two or more prior treatments in the European Union as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Northern Ireland.