On Friday European stocks rose, extending the Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s fourth weekly advance, after Italy met its maximum target in a debt sale as borrowing costs fell. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares rose.
Commerzbank jumped 4.5 percent after German newspaper Handelsblatt reported that the lender will raise its capital levels without seeking government aid.
The Stoxx 600 rose 0.4 percent to 250.51 at 11:06 a.m. in London. The gauge is headed for a weekly gain of 1.2 percent as the Federal Reserve confirmed the U.S. economy continues to grow and bond yields fell in the euro area.
European stocks fell in the past two days as the German economy shrank in the final quarter of 2011 and data on U.S. retail sales and initial jobless claims missed forecasts.
Italy sold Eur4.75 billion of bonds, its maximum target, as borrowing costs fell at the second auction this week. The Treasury sold 3 billion euros of benchmark securities due in November 2014 to yield 4.83 percent, down from 5.62 percent at the previous sale on the 29 December. On Thursday the nation raised Eur12 billion selling Treasury bills. Spain and Germany also this week received more bids than the amounts they targeted in their debt sales.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said in Frankfurt on Thursday his strategy for battling Europe’s debt crisis is starting to work and that there are “tentative signs” of economic stabilization in the euro area.
Asian stocks rose, with a regional benchmark index poised for its longest streak of weekly advances in a year, as lower Italian and Spanish borrowing costs added to optimism Europe’s debt crisis may be contained. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 1.4 percent.
This article was compiled by Valletta Fund Management Limited, a member of the BOV Group.
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