“European (SXXP) stocks advanced for a fourth day, as retailers and household-goods makers rallied, before a report that may show American unemployment claims fell. U.S. index futures and Asian shares also rose.
Marks & Spencer (MKS) Group Plc climbed the most in three weeks after posting sales growth that exceeded projections. Ashmore Group Plc jumped the most in four years as its assets under management increased. Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. dropped 5.1 percent after a report that its chairman has threatened to quit. Evraz (EVR) Plc declined the most since November 2011 as it refrained from announcing a final dividend for 2012.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.5 percent to 294.77 at 10:25 a.m. in London, for the longest winning streak since Jan. 4. The gauge has erased its losses so far this month, after rallying for 10 successive months. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.2 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 1.5 percent to a 20-month high.
“We’ve clearly got the equity markets underpinned by the continuation of quantitative easing in the States and the aggressive easing of monetary policy in Japan,” Bob Parker, who helps oversee about $400 billion as senior adviser at Credit Suisse Asset Management in London, told Francine Lacqua on Bloomberg Television. “I think the next move will be some form of easing by the European Central Bank. If we do have a correction — and I use the word ‘if’ — it’s going to be very minor indeed.”
The volume of shares changing hands in companies on the Stoxx 600 was 18 percent greater than the average of the past 30 days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
