“Stocks rose and oil extended its longest winning streak in two years as data from the U.S. to South Korea signaled an economic recovery. The cost of insuring European government debt fell and the yen weakened.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.3 percent at 7:45 a.m. in New York. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures climbed 0.3 percent. Oil in New York advanced 0.5 percent. The yen slipped 1 percent against the euro, reaching the weakest level since November. The cost of insuring against a default on European government bonds fell for the first time in four days.
U.S. home sales probably climbed to a nine-month high, economists said before a Commerce Department report today, a day after data showed jobless claims held at a four-year low. South Korea’s central bank said consumer confidence jumped to a three- year high. Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 nations meet tomorrow in Mexico and may discuss committing fresh cash to the International Monetary Fund to defuse the European fiscal crisis.
“On a short term basis the U.S. economy looks pretty good,” Kelvin Tay, chief investment strategist at UBS Wealth Management in Singapore, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “Many of the people who missed out on the initial rally are likely to be chasing the market and pushing up the market another leg.”
More than two shares climbed for every one that dropped in the Stoxx 600. (SXXP) Telecom Italia SpA jumped 5.7 percent after posting full-year profit before some items that climbed 7.3 percent and forecasting “broadly stable” earnings and revenue this year. Eiffage SA surged 12 percent for the biggest rally on the Stoxx 600 (SXXP) as Chief Executive Officer Pierre Berger said net income and sales at the French builder will climb in 2012. SAP AG added 2.3 percent after its board recommended an 83 percent increase to the software company’s dividend.
Home Sales
The advance in S&P 500 futures indicated that the benchmark measure will extend yesterday’s 0.4 percent gain. Home sales climbed 2.6 percent to a 315,000 annual pace in January, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 77 economists.
The euro rose 0.3 percent to $1.3410, appreciating to the highest level since December. The yen weakened against all 16 major peers, falling for the seventh day versus the euro….”
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