12:02 PM EST, 02/24/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed mixed in Monday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 was off 0.1%, Germany's DAX was up 0.6%, the FTSE 100 in London was flat, France's CAC 40 declined 0.78%, and the Swiss Market Index edged 0.04% higher.

The euro area annual inflation rate was 2.5% in January, up from 2.4% in December, and down from 2.8% a year earlier, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU. In the European Union, the annual inflation rose to 2.8% in January from 2.7% the previous month, and was down from 3.1% a year earlier.

Eurostat said the lowest annual rate was in Denmark at 1.4%, followed by Ireland, Italy, and Finland at 1.7% each, while the highest annual rate was in Hungary at 5.7%, followed by Romania and Croatia at 5.3% and 5% respectively. Compared with a year earlier, annual inflation increased in 15 member countries, fell in eight, and remained unchanged in four, according to Eurostat.

In Germany, the Ifo Business Climate indicator registered a 85.2 in February, which was unchanged from January, and below analyst expectations of 85.9, according to Bloomberg. Ifo said companies were more optimistic about their outlook for the coming months, but that their assessment of the current business situation declined to 85.0 from 86.0.

In corporate news, shares of Just Eat Takeaway surged 54% in Amsterdam in Monday's trading session after investment firm Prosus said it made a buyout offer for the Dutch online food delivery service.

British oil and gas giant BP will scrap its renewable generation capacity growth target as it returns its focus on fossil fuels in a bid to drive earnings, Reuters reported Monday, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the matter. A BP spokesperson told MT Newswires that the company does not comment on speculation but confirmed that BP is set to issue its Capital Markets update on Wednesday.

European automakers Stellantis and Volkswagen, along with Tesla and BYD, are under investigation by Italy's antitrust agency for misleading buyers about the capabilities of their electric vehicle batteries, the Italian Competition Authority said Friday. Tesla, Stellantis, Volkswagen, and BYD did not respond to MT Newswires' requests for comment.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria said Monday that it has raised its target for lending to sustainable businesses to 700 billion euros ($732.9 billion) from 2025 to 2029. The Spanish financial services company said it had set a previous target of 300 billion euros for the period from 2018 to 2025, which it reached a year ahead of schedule in December 2024.