European stocks close: stocks closed lower in the absence of any major economic reports from the Eurozone

Stock indices closed lower in the absence of any major economic reports from the Eurozone.

The German parliament will vote on the third Greek bailout programme on Wednesday. The Eurogroup approved the third Greek bailout programme on Friday.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Monday that he is confident that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will take part in a new bailout for Greece.

Greece eased capital controls. Greeks can now transfer up to €500 abroad. Parents can transfer €8,000 to their children studying abroad to cover tuition fees and other expenses, up from €5,000.

Greeks now can open bank accounts for debt repayments. Withdrawals are still limited to €420 a week.

The Greek imposed capital controls on June 29.

Total number of employed persons increased by 0.4% to 42.8 million in the second quarter from a year ago, after a 0.6% rise in the first quarter. The rise was mainly driven by the rise in the service sector.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released the consumer price inflation data for the U.K. on Tuesday. The U.K. consumer price index rose to 0.1% in July from 0.0% in June, exceeding expectations for a flat reading.

The increase was driven by a smaller decline in clothing prices.

The Bank of England Governor (BoE) Mark Carney expects the consumer price inflation to rise towards the end of the year.

On a monthly basis, U.K. consumer prices fell 0.2% in July, beating expectations for a 0.3% drop, after a flat reading in June.

Consumer price inflation excluding food, energy, alcohol and tobacco prices climbed to 1.2% in July from 0.8% the month before.

The consumer price inflation is below the Bank of England's 2% target.

Indexes on the close:

Name Price Change Change %

FTSE 100 6,526.29 -24.01 -0.37 %

DAX 10,915.92 -24.41 -0.22 %

CAC 40 4,971.25 -13.58 -0.27 %