European stocks close: stocks closed lower on the further yuan devaluation

Stock indices closed lower on the further yuan devaluation. The yuan devaluated 1.6% against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, after a 1.9% depreciation on Tuesday.

The central bank said on Tuesday that it was a "one-off depreciation".

"Looking at the international and domestic economic situation, currently there is no basis for a sustained depreciation trend for the yuan," the central bank said on Wednesday.

A weaker yuan should help to boost the activity in the manufacturing sector and exports, which dropped 8.3% year-on-year in July.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Greek government wants to approve a bailout draft before Friday's Eurogroup meeting.

Meanwhile, the economic data from the Eurozone was weaker than expected. Industrial production in the Eurozone fell 0.4% in June, missing expectations for a 0.2% decline, after a 0.4% drop in May.

The decrease was driven by a drop in durable consumer goods and capital output. Durable consumer goods were down 2.0% in June, while capital goods output slid by 1.8%.

On a yearly basis, Eurozone's industrial production gained 1.2% in June, missing expectations for a 1.5% rise, after a 1.6% increase in May.

The increase was driven by a rise in non-durable consumer goods, capital goods and intermediate goods. Non-durable consumer goods climbed by 2.2% in June from a year ago, capital goods rose by 1.7%, while intermediate goods output gained by 0.2%.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its labour market data on Wednesday. The U.K. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.6% in the April to June quarter, in line with expectations.

The claimant count fell by 4,900 people in July, beating expectations for a rise by 1,500, after an increase of 200 people in June. June's figure was revised down from a rise of 7,000.

U.K. unemployment in the April to June period rose by 25,000 to 1.85 million from the previous quarter.

Average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, climbed by 2.8% in the April to June quarter, in line with expectations, after a 2.8% gain in the January to March quarter. It was the highest gain in more than six years.

The previous three months' figure was revised up from a 2.2% increase.

Average weekly earnings, including bonuses, rose by 2.4% in the April to June quarter, missing expectations for a gain of 2.8%, after a 3.2% increase in the January to March quarter.

The Bank of England monitors closely the wages growth it considers when to start hiking its interest rate.

Indexes on the close:

Name Price Change Change %

FTSE 100 6,571.19 -93.35 -1.40 %

DAX 10,924.61 -369.04 -3.27 %

CAC 40 4,925.43 -173.60 -3.40 %