Stock markets in the largest Western European countries closed trading on Tuesday with solid gains, as investors assessed political and corporate news as well as economic data.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.56% to 643.19 points.

Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.58%, Germany's DAX added 0.66%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.28%, Italy's FTSE MIB advanced 0.81%, and Spain's IBEX 35 climbed 0.9%.

Unemployment in the UK in March-May was unchanged compared with February-April at 4.9%, the country's Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported on Tuesday. The market had on average expected unemployment to rise to 5%, Trading Economics writes.

The number of unemployed fell by 17 thousand to 1.76 million. The number of employed increased by 148 thousand, the most since July 2025, reaching 34.48 million.

Traders are also studying the new composition of the British government formed by Prime Minister Andrew Burnham, who took office the day before.

In particular, John Healey unexpectedly became finance minister, replacing Rachel Reeves. From 2024 until recently, he had served as defence secretary. He resigned in June this year due to disagreements with former Prime Minister Keir Starmer over insufficient defense funding. The main candidates for the post of chancellor were Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Energy Security Secretary Ed Miliband.

Mahmood will remain home secretary under Burnham, while Miliband will head the Foreign Office, replacing Yvette Cooper, who will lead the Health Ministry. Wes Streeting became defence secretary, Heidi Alexander remained transport secretary, and Miatta Fahnbulleh received the energy security portfolio.

In Germany, the index of economic expectations for investors and analysts for the next six months, calculated by the ZEW research institute, rose by 15.8 points in July compared with the previous month and reached 26.3 points, the highest since February. Analysts on average had expected it at 18 points.

In the eurozone, the index of economic expectations increased by 13.9 points in July to 23.4 points, also reaching a five-month high. The consensus forecast for this indicator was 11.2 points.

Shares of oil companies did not show a uniform trend amid falling oil prices. Shell shares rose 1.1%, BP plc gained 1.4%, and TotalEnergies advanced 2.4%.

Var Energi's market capitalization jumped 7.1%. The Norwegian oil and gas producer reached an agreement to buy local rival BlueNord for about $1.3 billion. BlueNord shares rose 6.9%.

The semiconductor sector rose following gains in shares of U.S. chipmakers. ASM International's market value increased 5.4%, Infineon Technologies gained 5.5%, STMicroelectronics rose 4.3%, BE Semiconductor Industries advanced 7.2%, and ASML Holding added 4.8%.

Switzerland's Novartis increased its market capitalization by 2%. The pharmaceutical company reported a 3% rise in revenue in the second quarter, with the figure beating analysts' expectations, as did core operating profit.

Shares of Swiss bank Julius Baer fell 4% despite more than doubling its net profit in the first half of the year, allowing the indicator to reach a record high.

Shares of British outsourcing company Mitie Group jumped 39% after news of its acquisition by OCS for up to 3.1 billion pounds sterling ($4.2 billion).

Tesco's market value slipped 0.1%, although the UK's largest grocery retailer announced a partnership with Uber Eats and Deliveroo in the grocery delivery sector.

Swedish mining company Boliden reported worse-than-expected adjusted operating profit in the previous quarter, and its shares fell 5.7%.