European stock-index futures were little changed after companies from Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) to Volvo AB (VOLVB) and BP Plc reported earnings. Asian shares gained and U.S. index futures were little changed. Volvo may move after reporting profit that beat analyst estimates and lifting this year’s industry sales forecasts. Credit Suisse, the second-biggest Swiss bank, might be active after reporting first-quarter profit that missed analyst estimates. BP, Europe’s second-largest oil company, said profit fell 4 percent. Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the euro region, rose 0.1 percent to 2,892 at 7:22 a.m. in London, while futures on the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index (UKX) fell less than 0.1 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.1 percent and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.5 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index has advanced 7.3 percent from this year’s low on March 16 as earnings reports from Intel Corp. to PSA Peugeot Citroen spurred speculation that the economic recovery is on track. In the U.S., the S&P 500 yesterday rose to its highest level since June 2008 as results at companies including 3M Co. and Ford Motor Co. topped analysts’ estimates. Of the 42 companies in the Stoxx 600 that have reported earnings since April 11, 28 have announced positive surprises, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Fed Meeting The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee will release its statement on interest rates at 12:30 p.m. in Washington, after the close of European stock markets. All 83 economists in a Bloomberg survey predict the Fed will keep the main interest rate in a range of zero to 0.25 percent, its level since December 2008. The central bank will probably confirm that its $600 billion of Treasury purchases, dubbed QE2 for the second round of quantitative easing, will end as planned in June, said John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina. “There’s speculation that the Fed’s program could soon be wound up and any reduction in the supply of cheap money is naturally going to impact markets,” Cameron Peacock, market analyst at IG Markets in Melbourne, wrote in a note. A report at 9:30 a.m. in London may show Britain’s economy grew 0.5 percent in the first quarter, barely enough to erase the contraction in the final three months of last year, according to the median of 28 economists’ forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. Volvo, Credit Suisse Volvo, the world’s second-largest truckmaker, raised its 2011 truck sales forecasts for Europe and North America. The company now expects industrywide deliveries in both regions of 230,000 to 240,000 trucks. The previous forecast was sales of 220,000 vehicles in both regions. The company said first-quarter net income rose to 4.09 billion kronor ($670 million), topping the 3.48 billion-krona estimate in a survey of analysts. Credit Suisse reported a 45 percent drop in first-quarter profit, with net income falling to 1.14 billion Swiss francs ($1.31 billion), on lower earnings at the investment bank and a charge related to its own debt. That missed the 1.32 billion- franc average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. BP may be active. The oil company said profit declined 4 percent in the first quarter after it sold off more than $24 billion of assets to help pay for the Gulf of Mexico spill. Excluding one-time items and inventory changes, earnings fell to $5.37 billion from $5.6 billion a year earlier. BP was expected to earn $5.6 billion on this basis, according to the average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Ericsson Earnings Ericsson AB, the world’s largest maker of mobile-phone networks, reported first-quarter profit that more than tripled, beating analysts’ estimates, paced by demand for broadband wireless equipment. Net income reached 4.1 billion kronor ($675 million), compared with 1.3 billion kronor a year earlier, the company said. Analysts predicted profit of 3.06 billion kronor. Electrolux AB (ELUXB), the second-biggest appliance maker, said first-quarter net income fell to 457 million kronor from 911 million kronor a year earlier. Analysts on average expected net income of 529 million kronor, a survey by Bloomberg showed. Barclays Plc (BARC), the U.K.’s third-largest bank by assets, said net income fell to 1.01 billion pounds ($1.67 billion) in the first quarter, as revenue from its investment banking unit declined by 15 percent. That compares with an analyst estimate for profit of 1.21 billion pounds. ABB Ltd. (ABBN), the world’s largest maker of power-transmission gear, said first-quarter profit rose 41 percent to $655 million as demand for automation equipment improved and the company reduced spending. Profit missed the average of $686.4 million of 21 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales rose 21 percent to $8.40 billion, beating the average estimate of $7.92 billion. Synthes Inc. (SYST) may advance after Johnson & Johnson agreed to buy the largest maker of devices to treat bone fractures and trauma for $21.3 billion in cash and stock. To contact the reporter on this story: Adria Cimino in Paris at acimino1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net.

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