European Stocks Climb on Chinese Economic Growth Report
European stocks advanced, rebounding from yesterday’s decline, as a report showed China’s economy expanded in line with the government’s target. U.S. index futures and Asian shares were little changed.
Gtech SpA gained 3 percent after agreeing to buy International Game Technology for $4.7 billion. Rio Tinto Group added 1.8 percent as the mining company said second-quarter iron-ore production increased 11 percent. Banco Espirito Santo SA jumped 5.3 percent as a person familiar with the matter said one of the lender’s holding companies plans to file for protection from creditors in Luxembourg.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.5 percent to 339.93 at 8:08 a.m. in London. The benchmark dropped the most since March last week after Banco Espirito Santo’s holding company failed to pay back some debt, igniting concern about lenders in the euro zone’s most indebted nations. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added less than 0.1 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index retreated less than 0.1 percent.
China’s economic growth increased for the first time in three quarters after the government accelerated spending and freed up more money for loans to counter a property slump. Gross domestic product rose 7.5 percent in the April-June period from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today in Beijing. That beat the 7.4 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.
In the U.S., a report at 9:15 a.m. New York time will probably show that industrial production rose at a slower rate in June than in May. Output increased 0.3 percent, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. It climbed 0.6 percent in the previous month.
European Union leaders meeting in Brussels today will discuss increasing the scope of sanctions against Russia over its involvement in the Ukraine conflict. The U.S. has urged a tougher stance. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the question of possibly stronger penalties against Russia is on the agenda for today’s summit.
Source: bloomberg
