On Friday European stocks rose, trimming weekly losses, as euro-area finance ministers began talks to bolster the region’s rescue funds and investors awaited a report that may show American consumer spending increased. U.S. index futures and Asian shares climbed.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 1 percent to 263.27 at 11:10 a.m. in London. The benchmark gauge is heading for a 0.9 percent loss this week as S&P said Greece may have to restructure its debt again and the U.S. Conference Board consumer confidence index dropped. The Stoxx 600 has rallied 7.6 percent this year.

Euro-area finance ministers, meeting in Copenhagen today, sought to shield Spain and Italy from the fallout of the debt crisis. They neared an agreement to run the temporary and permanent funds in parallel until mid-2013, potentially raising the upper limit on emergency lending to 940 billion euros. Amounts immediately available would range between 340 billion euros and 640 billion euros.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will today unveil the most austere budget since before the nation’s return to democracy in 1978, risking a deeper recession in a bid to avoid succumbing to the debt crisis. Budget details will be released by about 2 p.m. in Madrid after the weekly Cabinet meeting.

Japanese stocks fell after a report showed the nation’s industrial production unexpectedly declined in February and as the strengthening yen damped the outlook for exporters’ earnings. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 0.3 percent to 10,083.56 at the close in Tokyo, paring its monthly advance to 3.7 percent. The gauge rose 19 percent in the three months ended 30th March, its biggest quarterly advance since June 2009, as the yen weakened and the U.S. showed signs of economic recovery. The broader Topix Index slid 0.4 percent to 854.35, rising 0.2 percent for the week.