Led by bank stocks, European markets end day with losses

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - European stock markets closed Tuesday lower due to intensified sales of bank stocks after annual inflation in the US came above expectations in June.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.37% or 2.04 points to close at 544.95. The Stoxx 600's Banks Index was down 0.76%

Germany's DAX 40 fell 0.42% to 24,060.29 points, while the UK's FTSE 100 index lost 0.66% to 8,938.32.

France's CAC 40 index dropped 0.54% to 7,766.21 points and Italy’s FTSE MIB 30 was down 0.66% to 39,921.25.

Consumer inflation in the US was at 2.7% annually and 0.3% monthly in June. Annual inflation came above market forecasts.

The world's second-largest economy grew above expectations at 5.2% on an annual basis in the second quarter of the year, despite Beijing's trade disputes with the US.

On the macroeconomic data side, industrial production was up 1.7% in the euro area and 1.5% in the EU month-on-month in May, both beating expectations

The ZEW center's economic confidence index for the German economy improved 5.2 points to 52.7 points in July, above market estimates.

For the euro area, economic sentiment rose 0.8 points to 36.1 points in July, below forecasts.