“European stocks rose, extending a 23-month high, as German business confidence improved and European Central Bank data showed lenders will repay more long- term refinancing operation loans than estimated. U.S. index futures and Asian shares also advanced.
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA (BMPS) led banks higher, surging 12 percent, on a report the Bank of Italy may approve a bailout as soon as tomorrow. STMicroelectronics NV jumped 4.4 percent after Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the semiconductor maker. SolarWorld AG (SWV) sank the most ever after saying it needs to make “serious” adjustments to its debt structure.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.3 percent to 289.66 at 12:43 p.m. in London, extending its gain this week to 0.9 percent. The gauge has climbed 3.6 percent so this year and is on track for its longest stretch of monthly gains since July 1997 after U.S. lawmakers reached a budget compromise. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures rose 0.4 percent today, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.2 percent.
“The market will move higher, it is still undervalued, and any pullback we view as a buying opportunity,” said Kevin Lilley, a fund manager at Old Mutual Asset Managers U.K. in London, which oversees about 4 billion pounds ($6.2 billion). “I do feel hopeful for this year in that all the leading indicators across the globe are all picking up.”
The number of shares changing hands on companies listed on the Stoxx 600 was 42 percent higher than the average of the last 30 days, data compiled by Bloomberg showed….”
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