European stocks rose the most in a week as Fiat SpA and Accor SA’s results beat analysts’ estimates and Reckitt Benckiser Plc agreed to buy SSL International Plc. U.S. index futures advanced and the yen strengthened. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rallied 1.7 percent at 10:50 a.m. in London as 10 stocks gained for every one that declined. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 0.4 percent. The yen appreciated against all 16 of its most-traded counterparts. Copper climbed for a third day and refined sugar declined for the first time this week. Fiat said today it returned to profit on increased truck sales, while Accor reported sales climbed 6 percent. Reckitt agreed to buy SSL for 2.54 billion pounds ($3.9 billion). Of the 54 companies in the S&P 500 that reported since July 12, at least 43 topped earnings forecasts, based on data compiled by Bloomberg. “We’ve had some good results that snapped the bearish trend in the equity markets,” said Juan Esteban Valencia, a credit strategist at Societe Generale SA in London. “The earnings season is the driver at the moment.” All but one of the 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600 advanced. Fiat rallied 6 percent. Accor, Europe’s largest hotelier, surged 5.2 percent. SSL jumped 33 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.4 percent. Apple, Morgan Stanley The gain in futures indicated the S&P 500 will gain for a third day after Apple Inc.’s earnings and sales topped estimates. Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo & Co., Altria Group Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. are among companies scheduled to report quarterly results before the opening of U.S. exchanges today. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke gives testimony on monetary policy to the Senate Banking Committee today and the House Financial Services Committee tomorrow. Investors are speculating the Fed may announce more stimulus measures, such as cutting the interest paid on excess reserves, Mitul Kotecha, Hong Kong-based global head of foreign-exchange strategy at Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, wrote in a note. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose for a second day, climbing 0.9 percent. Russia’s Micex Index advanced 2 percent to lead gains among major developing-nation equity gauges, while benchmark indexes in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and South Africa all increased more than 1 percent. The yen appreciated 0.7 percent against the dollar and climbed 0.7 percent versus the euro. The dollar rose 0.1 percent against the euro. The pound was 0.1 percent higher versus the dollar and strengthened 0.3 percent against the euro as minutes from the Bank of England showed policy makers voted 7-1 at their July 8 meeting to keep the main interest rate at a record low. Debt Sales German 10-year bonds fell, with the yield rising one basis point to 2.65 percent, after the government failed to sell all of the 4 billion euros of 30-year securities it offered. Portugal borrowing costs rose at an auction of an auction of 1.253 billion euros of bills due in July 2011. Copper for delivery in three months gained 1.3 percent on the London Metal Exchange. White, or refined, sugar dropped 0.3 percent on the Liffe exchange in London as Brazil, the world’s largest producer, resumed shipments of raw sugar. Crude oil rose as much as 0.8 percent to $78.19 a barrel, the highest level in a week, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net

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