12:09 PM EDT, 06/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed lower in Wednesday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.5%, the Swiss Market Index dropped 0.6%, France's CAC was down 0.7%, the FTSE in London declined almost 0.2%, and Germany's DAX was off nearly 0.1%.

The European Central Bank said Wednesday that "limited progress" has been made since 2022 by non-euro area European Union members Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden regarding adoption of the euro. The ECB attributed the lack of significant progress to "challenging economic conditions."

The Swiss Federal Council confirmed Wednesday that the country will stick to its planned schedule for implementing international bank capital rules known as the Basel III standard for banks. The standards will be implemented beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

In corporate news, German automaking giant Volkswagen said late Tuesday that it will invest up to $5 billion in electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive. Volkswagen will initially invest $1 billion in Rivian before the end of the year, and up to an additional $4 billion until 2026.

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk said Wednesday it will recognize an impairment loss of around 5.7 billion Danish krone ($816.2 million) in Q2 after its Clarion-CKD phase 3 trial failed to meet its primary endpoint.

UK pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca said Wednesday that it has received approval in China for its cancer medicine Tagrisso in combination with chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer.