European stocks rose, rebounding from four days of losses, as companies including Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Credit Agricole SA reported better-than-expected quarterly profit. U.S. stock futures were little changed, while Asian shares fell.

BMW and Deutsche Post AG each gained at least 2 percent after posting better-than-projected earnings. Credit Agricole climbed 5.1 percent after second-quarter operating profit beat analysts’ estimates. Telefonica SA declined 1.9 percent after saying it offered 6.7 billion euros ($9 billion) for one of Vivendi SA’s units.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.6 percent to 333.14 at 10:27 a.m. in London. The equity benchmark dropped 2.9 percent last week as companies including ArcelorMittal and Holcim Ltd. posted disappointing results. It closed yesterday at the lowest level since April 16. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures lost less than 0.1 percent today, after the equity gauge yesterday rebounded from the biggest weekly loss in two years. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.6 percent.

“Last week has been a disaster, so the fact that U.S. markets were better yesterday is helping a bit today,” said Pierre Mouton, who helps oversee $8 billion at Notz, Stucki & Cie. in Geneva. “Earnings in Europe have been a mixed bag. With BMW, earnings have been very good even though sales fell slightly short of expectations. European markets are pretty cheap on average so buying a bit now can be a good investment if you look ahead three to six months.”

Stoxx 600 companies on average are trading at 15.2 times estimated earnings, down from last month’s four-year high of 15.7 and cheaper than the 16.2 multiple for S&P 500 firms, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

BMW Profit

BMW advanced 3.2 percent to 91.27 euros. The world’s biggest maker of luxury vehicles posted second-quarter earnings before interest and taxes of 2.6 billion euros as it sold more X5 sport-utility vehicles and increased deliveries in China. That beat the 2.25 billion euros estimated by analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Revenue of 19.9 billion euros missed analysts’ average projection of 20.2 billion euros.

Deutsche Post gained 2.5 percent to 23.84 euros after reporting second-quarter Ebit of 654 million euros as the German parcel business and international express unit of Europe’s largest postal company grew. That surpassed the 609.5 million-euro projection of analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Credit Agricole gained 5.1 percent to 10.81 euros after posting second-quarter operating profit of 628 million euros, exceeding the average analyst estimate of 617 million euros. France’s third-largest bank by market value also said net income slid 98 percent to 17 million euros as it booked 708 million euros in costs related to its 14.6 percent stake in Banco Espirito Santo SA. The Portuguese lender’s shares tumbled 73 percent last week before trading was halted on Aug. 1.

Aggreko Sales

Aggreko Plc (AGK) rallied 3 percent to 1,772 pence. The supplier of mobile power generators posted first-half sales of 768 million pounds ($1.3 billion) as business in the Americas, and Europe, Middle-East and Asia grew. That beat the 742 million-pound average analyst forecast.

Telefonica slipped 1.9 percent to 11.76 euros. The Spanish telecommunications company said it has offered to buy Vivendi’s Brazilian Internet-provider unit GVT. The proposal comprises 11.96 billion reais ($5.3 billion) in cash and newly issued shares in Telefonica’s Brazil unit, the Madrid-based company said in statement. Vivendi added 3.2 percent to 19.51 euros.

Bilfinger Outlook

Bilfinger SE plummeted 7.5 percent to 56.41 euros after issuing its second profit warning in five weeks. The German builder forecast full-year adjusted net income of 205 million euros to 220 million euros, 25 million euros less than expected. Bilfinger said June 30 it would miss an earlier goal of increasing profit “significantly” from 2013’s 255 million euros. The company also said late yesterday that Chief Executive Officer Roland Koch will step down on Aug. 8. Supervisory board member Herbert Bodner will replace him on an interim basis.

Meggitt Plc slid 6.7 percent to 469.9 pence after saying first-half pretax profit fell 21 percent to 143.8 million pounds. The U.K. supplier of plane wheels and brakes deferred revenue of as much as 30 million pounds until next year, saying a supplier in Brazil filed for insolvency.

A Markit Economics report today showed euro-area services expanded less in July than initially estimated. The Purchasing Managers Index rose to 54.2 from 52.8 in June, below the 54.4 reading published on July 24. A composite index of services and manufacturing increased to 53.8, also lower than previously estimated.

 

Source: bloomberg

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