Stocks and U.S. futures gained as EBay Inc. and Caterpillar Inc.’s earnings beat estimates and growth accelerated in European manufacturing and services. The dollar fell after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the economic outlook is “unusually uncertain.” The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 1.3 percent at 8:30 a.m. in New York as 10 stocks advanced for every one that declined. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 1 percent, paring gains after the Labor Department said jobless claims rose more than forecast last week. The Dollar Index dropped 0.8 percent, and copper increased for a fourth day. The unexpected acceleration in manufacturing and service industries signaled Europe’s economy is growing.Bernanke is scheduled to speak to U.S. lawmakers for a second day today, and reports may show sales of existing homes decreased and leading indicators fell, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. About 85 percent of companies on the S&P 500 that have reported since July 12 beat analysts’ estimates for earnings, based on data compiled by Bloomberg. “The quarterly reports have been overall good and growth is still under way,” said Henrik Degrer, a portfolio manager at Svenska Handelsbanken in Stockholm, which oversees $36 billion. “The guidance from companies has been fairly positive. We are still bullish on stocks.” All 19 industry groups on the Stoxx 600 advanced. ABB Ltd., the world’s largest builder of electricity networks, gained 3.6 percent after earnings beat estimates. Banks rallied, with HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe’s biggest lender, rising 1.6 percent. Banco Santander SA, Spain’s largest bank, climbed 1.9 percent. Gains were limited as Credit Suisse Group AG fell 2.8 percent after reporting a drop in profit at its investment banking unit. Autonomy Corp. slumped 14 percent after the software company’s gross margins retreated. EBay, Qualcomm U.S. futures climbed after the S&P 500 yesterday ended a two-day rally on Bernanke’s testimony. EBay rallied 4 percent and Caterpillar rose 2 percent in pre-market trading. Qualcomm Inc. jumped 6 percent in Germany after forecasting higher profit. Philip Morris International Inc. posted a 28 percent gain in earnings. Eli Lilly & Co. and Microsoft Corp. are also among more than 50 S&P 500 companies scheduled to report today. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed, falling less than 0.1 percent. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose less than 0.1 percent, after earlier dropping as much as 0.5 percent. Dollar Weakens The dollar weakened against 14 of its 16 most-traded peers, depreciating 0.8 percent against the euro. Jobless claims rose 37,000 to 464,000 last week, exceeding the median estimate of 445,000 of 42 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Sales of existing homes fell to a 5.1 million annual rate in June from 5.66 million the prior month, based on 74 economists’ estimates, while the Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators probably dropped 0.3 percent in June, according to 57 estimates. A composite index based on a survey of euro-area purchasing managers in manufacturing and service industries rose to 56.7 from 56 in June, according to Markit Economics. The yield on the two-year Treasury note was little changed after dropping to 0.5519 percent, the lowest on record. The U.S. will announce today plans to sell $105 billion in two-, five- and seven-year notes next week, the smallest monthly offering of the securities since June 2009, according to a Bloomberg News survey of 10 primary dealers, companies required to bid at the sales. Copper climbed 1.3 percent on the London Metal Exchange. Gold for immediate delivery dropped 0.5 percent to $1,186.50 an ounce. Crude oil rose 0.5 percent to $76.92 a barrel 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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