12:02 PM EDT, 09/03/2025 (MT Newswires) -- European stock markets closed higher Wednesday as the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.66%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.46%, the FTSE 100 gained 0.67%, France's CAC was up 0.86%, and the Swiss Market Index also closed 0.92% higher.

The seasonally adjusted HCOB Eurozone Composite PMI, which gauges overall business activity in the Eurozone, rose slightly to a one-year high of 51.0 in August from 50.9 in July.

Spain was the fastest-growing economy, according to the survey results, despite the deceleration of its expansion. Growth slowdowns were also seen in Ireland and Germany, while Italy saw its business growth move slightly faster. France meanwhile remained the weakest-performing eurozone economy.

"The economy has been growing since the start of the year, but the pace is painfully slow," Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank, said in a statement. "Political tensions in France and Spain, uncertainty around the EU-US trade deal, and ongoing troubles in the key automotive sector aren't helping."

And in the UK, the headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global UK Services PMI Business Activity Index rose sharply to 54.2 in August from 51.8 in July, marking its highest reading in 16 months.

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, reported Wednesday that industrial producer prices increased 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.6% in the EU in July from June. Compared with a year earlier, industrial producer prices increased 0.2% in the euro area and 0.4% in the EU.

And in corporate news, Unilever Chief Executive Fernando Fernandez plans to replace a quarter of the company's top 200 managers following a performance review as part of a broad restructuring of the consumer-goods group, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing the CEO at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference.

In the past 18 months, Unilever reduced its white-collar workforce by 18%, aiming to shed what Fernandez referred to as "pockets of mediocrity," the report said. Fernandez is moving forward with restructuring efforts that involve separating Unilever's ice cream business, which includes Magnum and Ben & Jerry's, by November, the report also said.

Shares of Unilever gained 0.8% on the FTSE 100.

Shell said Wednesday its subsidiary Shell Nederland Raffinaderij has chosen not to proceed with its planned biofuels facility at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park in Rotterdam, Netherlands, after an in-depth competitiveness reassessment.

The British oil and gas company's stock lost 1.5% in London trading.

BlackRock has been cut off from Dutch pension fund PFZW over issues of sustainability, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing the pension fund. The pension said it has cut its holdings to 800 companies from 3,500 in Q2.

"This portfolio is smaller, but offers good diversification and a balance of return, risk, and sustainability for each investment," the pension fund added.

Mining stocks rose sharply as Fresnillo surged nearly 8%, while Antofagasta and Anglo American advanced 3.1% and 2.2% respectively in London. Meanwhile in Paris, shares of steel and mining giant ArcelorMittal were up 1.4% in Paris.