12:15 PM EDT, 08/13/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed higher in Tuesday trading as The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.52%, the Swiss Market Index increased 0.46%, France's CAC rose 0.35%, the FTSE in London was up 0.30%, and Germany's DAX closed 0.45% higher.

Average regular earnings growth excluding bonuses decelerated in the UK in Q2 to 5.4%, the slowest growth rate in close to two years when it was 5.2% in May to July 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In corporate news, Sage Homes, which was created by funds managed by private equity firm Blackstone, has sold a portfolio of more than 3,000 shared ownership homes for 405 million British pounds ($519 million) to the Universities Superannuation Scheme, the UK's Largest Pension.

NatWest said Tuesday it has executed a 1.1 billion pound ($1.41 billion) own-asset securitization deal to allow the UK financial services company to increase lending to renewable energy companies.

Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis failed to convince a federal court to stop MSN Pharmaceuticals from launching its own version of the company's heart-failure drug Entresto, according to a court decision issued on Monday.

British oil and gas company Shell signed a multiyear agreement with L&T Technology Services, which will provide engineering and procurement services for Shell's global assets, L&T said Tuesday.

And Swedish biopharmaceutical company Calliditas Therapeutics reported a Q2 loss Tuesday of 0.88 Swedish kronor ($0.084) per diluted share, compared with a loss of 1.71 kronor a year earlier.