12:10 PM EDT, 07/31/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed higher in Wednesday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.79%, the Swiss Market Index was up 0.29%, France's CAC rose 0.76%, the FTSE in London climbed 1.13 %, and Germany's DAX closed 0.48% higher.

Euro area annual inflation is expected to be 2.6% in July, up from 2.5% in June according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Among inflation components, the services prices are estimated to have had the highest annual inflation rate in July, followed by food, alcohol and tobacco, energy, and non-energy industrial goods.

In Italy, the consumer price index rose 0.5% in July from June, and was up 1.3% compared with a year earlier, according to preliminary estimates from the Italian National Institute of Statistics.

In Germany, approximately 46 million people residing in the country were employed in June, according to preliminary estimates from the Federal Statistical Office. This is an 8,000 increase from the previous month, adjusted for seasonal factors.

And in corporate news, shares of British financial services giant HSBC closed 4% higher in London after it reported Q2 earnings and revenue Wednesday that beat analyst expectations.

GSK reported Q2 core earnings of 0.43 British pounds ($0.55) per share, up from 0.39 pounds a year earlier. The British pharmaceutical company also raised its earnings and sales guidance for 2024. Shares of GSK were down 2% in London trading.

Rio Tinto reported H1 underlying earnings Wednesday of $3.54 per share, up from $3.53 a year earlier. Revenue for the six months ended June 30 was $26.80 billion, compared with $26.67 billion a year earlier. Shares of the UK-based mining company were up 1.8% in London.

And shares of Spanish financial services company Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria dropped 4% in Madrid after Chief Executive Onur Genc said in a Q2 earnings call Wednesday that the company is temporarily stopping share buybacks, Bloomberg reported.