12:10 PM EDT, 09/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed mostly lower in Thursday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.54%, the Swiss Market Index fell 1.19%, France's CAC dropped 0.92%, the FTSE in London lost 0.34%, while Germany's DAX closed 0.08% lower.

The seasonally adjusted retail trade volume rose 0.1% in the euro area and 0.2% in the European Union in July from June, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU. Compared with a year earlier, the calendar-adjusted retail sales index declined 0.1% in the euro area and increased 0.4% in the EU.

The HCOB Eurozone Construction PMI Total Activity Index, which tracks monthly changes in total industry activity, was flat in August from July and remains at a six-month low of 41.4. Euro area construction activity has declined in each of the last 28 months.

In the UK, the headline S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 53.6 in August from a 26-month high of 55.3 in July. Despite the decline, the index remained above the 50.0 no-change value for the sixth straight month.

In Switzerland, the unemployment rate rose to 2.4% in August from 2.3% in July, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.

And in corporate news, European Union antitrust regulators will ask for commentary on proposals by Alphabet's Google to follow rules promoting fair competition, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter. Google did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

European automaker Stellantis will resume production Thursday at its US assembly plants after pausing its output of Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee SUVs in the past week, Reuters reported late Wednesday, citing the company. Stellantis did not immediately reply to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Volvo said Thursday that it no longer expects to meet its goal of manufacturing only electric vehicles by 2030 "due to changing market conditions and customer demands." The Swedish automaker now says that at least 90% of its global sales volume come from EVs by the end of the decade, with the remaining sales coming from hybrid models.

Five current and former employees of British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca have been detained in China on suspicion of collecting illegal patient data collection and importing an unapproved liver cancer drug, media outlets reported Thursday, citing unidentified sources.

And British financial services company HSBC was ordered by the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority to review data handling practices within its commercial banking and global banking and markets groups, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the matter. HSBC Holdings declined to comment.

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