By Julie Cruz Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks advanced, snapping a four-day loss for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, amid optimism that the economy will avoid another recession. U.S. futures and Asian shares also rose. BP Plc rallied 1.8 percent after confirming that its Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico has been permanently sealed. Rio Tinto Group led basic-resource stocks higher. Brit Insurance N.V. jumped 4.9 percent after Apollo Global Management teamed up with CVC Capital Partners Ltd. to make a sweetened offer for the company. SGS SA rose to a record after saying it plans to reach revenue of 8 billion Swiss francs ($7.9 billion) by 2014. The benchmark Stoxx 600 gained 0.6 percent to 264.52 as of 11:50 a.m. in London. The gauge remains 2.8 percent below its high for 2010 in April amid conflicting reports about the state of the economy as Europe’s most indebted nations slash spending and China moves to cool growth. Still, the measure has rallied 14 percent since its low this year on May 25 on signs that the debt crisis won’t choke off the recovery. “Investors are getting more confident about macro-economic developments and global growth is still solid overall,” said Markus Steinbeis, head of equity portfolio management at the Unterfoehring, Germany-based unit of Pioneer Investments KGmbH, which oversees about $221 billion globally. “Sentiment is supportive for risky assets. I’m still positive for the mid- term.” Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.6 percent today, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.4 percent. Ireland, Portugal The Stoxx 600 retreated 0.7 percent last week as the cost to insure Irish government bonds jumped amid concern that the nation’s banks may need further government aid. Stocks rebounded today as Moody’s Investors Service said the U.K.’s top credit rating will withstand the challenging economic outlook as the government stabilizes the public finances. Even so, Portuguese and Irish bonds fell again today, with the yield premium investors demand to hold 10-year Portuguese and Irish debt instead of bunds reaching a record. Ireland’s central bank governor Patrick Honohan said the government needs to cut the country’s budget deficit at a faster pace to shore up investor confidence. BP gained 1.8 percent to 410.25 pence as U.S. officials said the company killed its Macondo well after creating another cement seal, plugging the source of the largest offshore oil spill in U.S history. Tainted Coastline “The Macondo 252 well is effectively dead,” said National Incident Commander Thad Allen in a statement yesterday. The 87-day spill, triggered by an April 20 rig explosion that killed 11 workers, tainted hundreds of miles of U.S. coastline, wiped out more than $70 billion of BP’s market value, brought new drilling in the Gulf to a standstill and cost Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward his job. Rio Tinto rose 1.8 percent to 3,623 pence, while Xstrata Plc, the largest exporter of coal used for power, added 1.5 percent to 1,184.5 pence. Aluminum, copper, lead, nickel, tin and zinc all rose on the London Metal Exchange. Segro Plc rallied 1.9 percent to 268.8 pence, leading a gauge of European real estate shares to the biggest gain among 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600. The U.K.’s biggest owner of warehouses and business parks was raised to “neutral” from “sell” at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Brit, SGS Brit Insurance jumped 4.9 percent to 1,036 pence, the highest level since April 2008. Brit expects to accept the offer of 10.75 pounds a share in cash and a further 25 pence a share depending on the value of its assets at the end of the year, the insurer said in a statement after the close of markets on Sept. 17. Without the 25 pence contingent value right, the private equity firm’s bid is worth 851 million pounds ($1.3 billion). SGS, the world’s biggest goods inspector, gained 4.8 percent to 1,684 Swiss francs. The company also aims for earnings per share of about 140 francs by 2014, helped by “strong organic growth,” it said today in a statement. Suedzucker AG climbed 3.7 percent to 15.56 euros, the biggest advance in almost three months. The world’s largest sugar refiner said it expects full-year operating profit to increase to more than 450 million euros from 403 million euros last year. Boost in Earnings “The boost in earnings will be driven predominantly by the segments sugar and CropEnergies,” Suedzucker said in a statement today. CropEnergies AG, majority owned by Suedzucker, jumped 13 percent to 3.46 euros. The company raised its full-year forecasts after what it said was a “strong” first half. Safran SA rose 4.2 percent to 20.19 euros. The company still wants to buy Zodiac Aerospace, Chief Executive Officer Jean-Paul Herteman said on a conference call today. Safran, which today said it’s buying most of the assets of L-1 Indentity, sees synergies of $30 million from the purchase. Fiat SpA climbed 3.2 percent to 10.69 euros, the highest price since April. Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. upgraded the Italian carmarker to “outperform” from “market perform.” The brokerage, which increased its price estimate to 15 euros from 12 euros, said in a note that “the key to performance is whether Fiat can deliver earnings progress and upgrades into 2011 and 2012, irrespective of whether it is structured as one company or two.” Falling Streak Credit Agricole SA rose 2 percent to 11.47 euros after Credit Suisse Group AG raised its recommendation for France’s second-largest bank by assets to “outperform” from “neutral.” Halfords Group Plc tumbled 4.9 percent to 439.5 pence, a seventh day of declines for the longest falling streak in 15 months. The U.K.’s biggest seller of car parts and bicycles was downgraded to “neutral” from “buy” at Redburn Partners LLP. Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc sank 6 percent to 720 pence, the worst performance in the Stoxx 600. The Jordanian drugmaker listed in London was downgraded to “sell” from “reduce” at Numis Securities Ltd. To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Cruz in Frankfurt at jcruz6@bloomberg.net.

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