12:12 PM EDT, 08/02/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed out the week falling sharply lower in Friday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 tumbled 2.73%, the Swiss Market Index plunged 3.59%, France's CAC dropped 1.61%, the FTSE in London fell 1.31%, and Germany's DAX shed 2.33%.

In France, manufacturing output rebounded slightly in June from May, rising 0.8% after falling 2.7% in May, according to the Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies.

In Italy, the seasonally adjusted index for retail trade decreased 0.2% in both value and volume in June compared with May, according to the Italian National Institute of Statistics. Istat also reported that the seasonally adjusted industrial production index increased 0.5% in June compared with the previous month.

In Switzerland, the consumer price index declined 0.2% in July compared with June and rose 1.3% from a year earlier, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

And in corporate news, Apollo Global Management and KKR are among a group of funds providing a 1.75 billion British pound ($2.2 billion) loan to finance the buyout and delisting of UK-based Hargreaves Lansdown, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

British aerospace company Rolls-Royce is giving its 42,000 employees 150 shares each, which are worth approximately 700 British pounds per employee, according to media reports citing an internal memo that was first reported by the Financial Times.

Danish brewing company Carlsberg said Friday that it has agreed to acquire the remaining 33.33% shareholding in Carlsberg South Asia from CSAPL. CSAPL is the holding company for Carlsberg India and the company's business in Nepal through its shareholding in Gorkha Brewery Private Limited. When the deal is completed, Carlsberg will own 100% of the existing business in India and 99.94% of the existing business in Nepal.