12:05 PM EST, 12/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed higher in Tuesday trading as The Stoxx Europe rose 0.44%, Germany's DAX gained 0.51%, the FTSE in London increased 0.56%, France's CAC was up 0.26%, and the Swiss Market Index nudged 0.04% higher.

In Switzerland, the consumer price index declined 0.1% in November compared with the previous month, and rose 0.7% compared with a year earlier, according to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. The FSO attributed the monthly decline to lower prices for hotels and international package holidays, as well as for new cars and fruiting vegetables.

And in corporate news, Apple must repay as much as 785 million British pounds ($994.4 million) to as many as 13,000 developers for charging up to 30% for commission fees on App Store sales, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing a professor leading the class action lawsuit. Apple did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

BlackRock's proposed acquisition of British investment data firm Preqin is being investigated by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, the regulator said Tuesday. The CMA said it is looking into whether the proposed merger could result in a "substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets" in the UK for goods or services.

French energy company TotalEnergies is close to acquiring VSB Group from private equity firm Partners Group for 2 billion euros ($2.10 billion), Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Partners Group declined to comment, and TotalEnergies did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

The Carlsberg Group said Tuesday that it has agreed to divest its shares in Russian beer company Baltika Breweries. Under the terms of the sale, Baltika Breweries will transfer all its shareholdings in Carlsberg Azerbaijan and Carlsberg Kazakhstan to the Carlsberg Group. The Danish brewing company will receive a cash consideration as well as Baltika Breweries' shareholdings in Carlsberg Azerbaijan and Carlsberg Kazakhstan.