12:10 PM EST, 12/31/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The European stock markets closed mostly higher in Tuesday trading as The Stoxx Europe gained 0.55%, the FTSE in London was up 0.64%, France's CAC rose 0.92%, the Swiss Market Index edged 0.1% higher, while Germany's DAX was down 0.38%.

The European Commission is permanently withholding 1.04 billion euros ($1.08 billion) in funds to Hungary for failing to ensure transparency in how it spends European Union funds, according to media reports. It is the first time the EU has ever withheld funds from a member state.

And in corporate news, French pharmaceutical company Sanofi is among drugmakers including Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb that plan to raise list prices in the US on at least 250 branded medications, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing data from the healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors. Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi, and Merck did not immediately reply to MT Newswires' requests for comment.

UBS Group Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said Monday that Switzerland should not set rules for its banking industry that would put the lender at a disadvantage, Reuters reported. Switzerland is gearing up to overhaul the country's financial sector and authorities are due to propose stricter banking rules in coming weeks, the report said.

European automaker Stellantis said Monday that One Equity Partners has completed its investment in Comau, a global technology company specializing in industrial automation and advanced robotics. The middle market private equity firm becomes majority shareholder of Comau, the company said, adding that it will remain an "active" minority shareholder.

Biotech firm Amgen's tarlatamab has been approved by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to treat adults with small cell lung cancer that has spread throughout the lungs and/or to other parts of the body, the regulator said Tuesday.