By David Merritt March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks rose, led by mining companies, as metals rallied and plans for an emergency European loan package eased concern that Greece might default. The Swiss franc strengthened for a third day against the euro. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index of equities gained 0.8 percent at 9:58 a.m. in London while futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 0.2 percent. Copper climbed for the first time in three days. The Swiss franc advanced to its strongest level since October 2008 against the euro. Greek bonds gained and the cost of insuring against default declined. European finance ministers worked out a strategy for emergency loans to Greece should the nation’s plan to raise taxes and lower wages fail to reduce the region’s biggest budget deficit. In Washington, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd diluted proposed bank rules, while the Federal Reserve meets amid predictions inflation will remain subdued. “The idea is to give the market confidence that the EU would be the lender of last resort to Greece,” said Gary Jenkins, head of credit strategy at Evolution Securities Ltd. in London. “We shall see over the next couple of months whether this game of poker plays out positively for Greece when they next approach the market for funds.” The MSCI World Index of 23 developed nations’ stocks advanced 0.4 percent. Rio Tinto Group led gains by basic- resources shares, rising 1.3 percent in London. Barclays Plc, Britain’s second-largest bank, and BNP Paribas SA, France’s biggest, rose more than 1 percent after Morgan Stanley raised its price estimates. Asian Gains The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.2 percent. Sony Financial Holdings Inc. surged 14 percent in Tokyo after saying it will hold more bonds to reduce risk. Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. fell 1.6 percent in Hong Kong after the city’s government took steps to cool real-estate prices. U.S. futures rose after the S&P 500 yesterday closed at the highest level since October 2008. Financial shares reversed declines in the final hour of trading after Dodd outlined his proposals to overhaul banking rules. The plans for the biggest Wall Street changes since the 1930s drop provisions he sought in November and dilute others as he seeks bipartisan support. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke may keep the target rate for overnight loans between banks in a range of zero to 0.25 percent, according to Bloomberg News surveys. The Federal Open Market Committee will release its statement at about 2:15 p.m. New York time. Greek Aid Greek bonds rose, with the yield on the 10-year security falling as much as 17 basis points to 6.16 percent, after officials from the 16 euro nations came up with a strategy for providing emergency loans to Greece. The government of Prime Minister George Papandreou is struggling to narrow a deficit that reached 12.7 percent of gross domestic product last year. The Dubai Financial Market General Index climbed 2.2 percent, the steepest advance among benchmark equity indexes worldwide. United Arab Emirates Central Bank Governor Sultan bin Nasser al-Suwaidi said in an interview that Dubai isn’t likely to need more central bank aid, while a Dubai World restructuring plan will be discussed “very soon.” The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.3 percent after tumbling the most in more than two weeks yesterday. The Swiss franc rose 0.1 percent versus the euro, trading at its strongest since the month following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., on speculation the central bank’s resistance to the currency’s advance is waning. The SNB started selling francs a year ago to contain declines in consumer prices and safeguard exports, intervening at about 1.4578 per euro, according to UniCredit SpA. Euro Strengthens The euro appreciated against the dollar and the yen after Germany’s ZEW Center for European Economic Research said investor confidence declined less than analysts had estimated. Copper for delivery in three months rose 0.9 percent to $7,373.25 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, while zinc added 0.9 percent to $2,300 a ton. Crude oil for April delivery fell 0.3 percent to $79.57 a barrel in New York after Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will probably maintain output at a meeting tomorrow in Vienna. U.S. builders probably broke ground in February on the fewest homes since October, partly because of record snowfall in parts of the country, economists said before a government report due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Housing starts fell 3.6 percent to an annual rate of 570,000 last month, according to the median forecast of 71 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. A separate report may show the cost of imported goods dropped 0.2 percent, signaling price pressures will be contained. To contact the reporter on this story: David Merritt in London on dmerritt1@bloomberg.net.

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