Stocks in Europe and Asia and U.S. futures rose, pushing the MSCI World Index to the highest level in almost seven months, as speculation grew that the worst of the global recession is over. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil producer, climbed 1.3 percent as China’s manufacturing expanded for a third month and the nation increased fuel prices, sending crude to the highest level since November. Mitsubishi Corp., the Japanese trading house that gets more than half of its profit from commodities, jumped 5.6 percent as copper, silver and gold rallied. The MSCI World added 0.9 percent to 979.15 at 8:03 a.m. in London, the highest level since Nov. 5. The gauge of 23 developed countries last week capped its first three-month rally since May 2007 and has gained 42 percent since March 9 on optimism that the $12.8 trillion pledged by the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve will help to end the first global recession since World War II. “We are getting closer to the bottom” for the economy, said Andy Lynch, who helps manage about $5 billion at Schroder Investment Management Ltd. in London. “The data is not as awful as it was. We can continue to see this positive strength in equities.” Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index climbed for the fifth time in six days, adding 1.8 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rallied 2.6 percent. GM, Coppock Guide Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures expiring this month climbed 1.6 percent. U.S. manufacturing probably shrank in May at the slowest pace in eight months, economists said before the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index data due at 10 a.m. New York time. Futures increased even as General Motors Corp., the world’s largest automaker for 77 years, was poised to file for bankruptcy today. U.S. stocks are worth buying for the first time in six years, according to the so-called Coppock guide or Coppock curve, an indicator that has signaled bull markets all but once since World War II. Still, shares in the U.S. are expensive relative to those in Europe having “significantly and steadily” outperformed over the past two years, UBS AG strategists led by Jeffrey Palma wrote in a report dated May 29. The bank raised its recommendation on European stocks to “overweight” and downgraded U.S. equities to “underweight.” Shell added 1.3 percent to 1,682 pence, while Mitsubishi gained 5.6 percent to 1,899 yen. Crude oil for July delivery rose 2.2 percent to $67.76 a barrel in New York. Manufacturing in China Manufacturing in China expanded for a third month, with the official Purchasing Manager’s Index at a seasonally adjusted 53.1 in May after registering 53.5 in April, the Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion. China, the world’s second-biggest energy consumer, also increased prices of gasoline and diesel by as much as 8 percent today, a move that may prompt domestic refiners to boost crude purchases for processing. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, added 3.3 percent to 1,524 pence. Copper advanced 2.7 percent on the London Metal Exchange.

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