By Sarah Jones - Jun 27, 2013 11:11 AM GMT+0400
The logo of Bankia SA branch sits on the bank's offices in Las Rozas, Spain. Photographer: Angel Navarrete/Bloomberg
Most European stocks climbed, following the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s largest two-day rally in 11 months, as global equities gained. U.S. index futures also advanced.
Bankia SA gained 2.7 percent as the lender sold its 12.1 percent holding in IAG SA, the owner of Iberia. Repsol SA fell after its board rejected a $3.5 billion offer by Argentina to compensate the company for the expropriation of a stake in YPF SA last year. Subsea 7 SA tumbled 15 percent after saying full-year earnings won’t “show progress” from 2012.
The logo of Bankia SA branch sits on the bank's offices in Las Rozas, Spain. Photographer: Angel Navarrete/Bloomberg
The Stoxx 600 slipped less than 0.1 percent to 284.43 at 8:06 a.m. in London as more than three stocks rose for every two that fell. The benchmark MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 1.9 percent, heading for its biggest advance in nine months. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures increased 0.1 percent after the gauge climbed 1 percent for a second consecutive day.
“Equity indices have continued to claw their way back towards what hopefully will still prove to be support levels,” said Ian Williams, a market strategist at Peel Hunt LLP in London. “U.S. equities added another 1 percent and Asia followed suit and this time China joined in. This has set up a solid start in Europe today.”
Europe’s Stoxx 600 has lost 3.1 percent this quarter, its first drop in a year. The gauge has pared its advance so far this year to 1.7 percent after the Federal Reserve indicated that it may start paring its bond-buying program if the economy strengthens. Stocks rallied around the world yesterday after a report showing slower-than-estimated U.S. economic growth fueled speculation that the central bank will maintain stimulus.
European Agreement
In the Europe Union, finance ministers struck an agreement on how to handle failing banks to help bolster investor confidence and help overcome the euro area’s financial crisis.
In seven hours of emergency negotiations in Brussels that concluded at about 1:30 a.m. today, ministers settled on guidelines for assigning losses to private creditors and regulating public assistance. They also spelled out when governments can step in and established a role for the European Stability Mechanism, the euro area’s 500 billion-euro ($651 billion) firewall fund.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net
