In a downturn that reflects ongoing economic challenges, European stock markets experienced a decline in Tuesday trading. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell by 0.45%, while France's CAC saw a decrease of 0.22%. The London FTSE also dropped by 1%, contributing to the overall sentiment of the market. Germany's DAX index closed 0.35% lower, and the Swiss Market Index faced a smaller dip of 0.07%.
These figures underscore the persistent uncertainties in the European economic landscape. Recent data from Eurostat unveils that the annual inflation rate within the euro area has reached 2.6% in July, showing a minor rise from 2.5% in June but a notable reduction from 5.3% recorded a year prior. In the broader EU, annual inflation edged up to 2.8% in July, compared to 2.6% in June, starkly down from 6.1% a year ago.
The analysis further highlights that Finland boasts the lowest annual inflation rates at 0.5%, while Latvia and Denmark follow closely at 0.8% and 1.0%, respectively. Conversely, Romania leads with the highest inflation at 5.8%, trailed by Belgium at 5.4% and Hungary at 4.1%. A comparison with June indicates that inflation rates have fallen in nine member countries, risen in 14, and remained stable in four. Additionally, Eurostat has reported a seasonally adjusted increase in construction production, with a rise of 1.7% in the euro area and a 1.4% increase in the EU overall.
Compared to June 2023, the euro area saw a 1.0% hike in production, while the EU experienced a negligible decrease of 0.1%. In a significant development, the European Commission announced on Tuesday a reduction of import duties for electric vehicles manufactured by Tesla in China, decreasing from 20.8% to 9%.
This strategic move follows the establishment of duty rates for various battery electric vehicle importers from China last month — specifically, a hefty 37.6% for SAIC, 19.9% for Geely, and 17.4% for BYD. The Commission's report noted that other battery electric vehicle manufacturers that cooperated in the EU investigation, including Tesla, would be subjected to a weighted average duty of 20.8%. On the corporate front, shares of BT Group plummeted by 6.4% in London after Sky, one of its primary clients, decided to initiate broadband services that would operate on a rival telecom network.
Sky, which is linked to Comcast in terms of content delivery, is set to commence these services utilizing the independent operator CityFibre's network starting in 2025. Moreover, Stellantis, the Amsterdam-based automotive manufacturer, informed the United Auto Workers union that it has postponed plans to reopen its Belvidere assembly plant located in Illinois. In major biotechnology news, Genmab, a Danish firm, announced that the European Commission granted conditional approval for Tepkinly aimed at treating adults diagnosed with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma after undergoing two or more lines of systemic therapy.
Tepkinly, co-developed with AbbVie, has also received approval for treating relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma following two or more prior treatments in not only the European Union but also in countries like Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Northern Ireland..