Most European stocks rose and the euro halted a three-day decline before European officials meet to discuss Greek aid. Gold rose to near a three-week high. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed as of 8:41 a.m. in London, with about three shares rising for every two that fell. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.2 percent. The euro bought $1.2717. Gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,735.75, extending its best week since August. Copper advanced 0.5 percent after Chinese exports exceeded estimates. Soybeans fell 1.9 percent to $14.234 a bushel, the lowest in more than four months. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average capped its longest losing streak since July as the economy contracted the most since last year’s earthquake. China’s exports beat estimates last month and a quota will be increased to allow more yuan raised overseas to be invested in domestic stock and bond markets. Greek lawmakers passed a 2013 budget needed to unlock bailout funds before a meeting of euro-area finance chiefs today in Brussels. “‘The situation in Europe is steadily progressing in a slightly more favorable fashion,’’ said Angus Gluskie, managing director at Sydney-based White Funds Management, which oversees more than $350 million. ‘‘The path Greece is heading down is starting to turn around.’’ Lawmakers from both major U.S. parties and investors including Pacific Investment Management Co. predicted a resolution to the standoff on the so-called fiscal cliff that threatens to trigger $607 billion in tax increases and spending cuts. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat, said a ‘‘framework agreement’’ can be reached. Pimco, which runs the world’s largest bond fund, sees as much as a 70 percent chance a compromise will be struck. U.S. Bonds Bond markets are closed in the U.S. today for a holiday. Yields on 10-year Treasuries lost 11 basis points last week to 1.61 percent, the lowest since Sept. 5. The S&P 500 fell 2.4 percent in the week, the worst slide since June. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 1.7 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) dropped 0.4 percent, falling for a third day and headed for its lowest close since Oct. 15. The gauge traded at 13.3 times estimated earnings, compared with 13.3 for the S&P 500 and 12.1 for the Stoxx 600 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced as much as 0.4 percent after China’s exports increased 11.6 percent from a year earlier. The number, released by the Beijing-based customs administration on Nov. 10, compared with a 10 percent estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists and was the fastest rate since May. Japan GDP The Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) fell 0.9 percent, dropping for a sixth day in its longest losing streak in four months, after gross domestic product contracted by the most since last year’s earthquake. The economy shrank an annualized 3.5 percent in the three months through September, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. Economists predicted a 3.4 percent contraction. Sony Corp. declined 2.6 percent in Tokyo after the electronics maker’s rating was cut to the lowest investment level of Baa3 at Moody’s Investors Service. Lynas Corp., an Australian miner that’s building the world’s largest rare-earth refinery, fell 11 percent after selling A$150 million ($156 million) of new shares. QBE Insurance Group Ltd. sank 8.3 percent, the most since January after Australia’s largest insurer by market value said it will issue debt due to losses from Hurricane Sandy in the U.S. HTC Corp. climbed 6.9 percent in Taiwan after the smartphone maker and Apple Inc. settled lawsuits. Soybeans Fall Soybeans dropped to the lowest price in more than four months after the U.S. government raised its estimates for global inventories, boosted by higher yields than forecast a month earlier. The oilseed for delivery in January lost as much as 2.1 percent to $14.21 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the lowest level for the most-active contract since June 29. Wheat dropped 1 percent and corn slipped 0.1 percent. The euro was little changed from a two-month low before European finance chiefs meet today to seek a program to maintain Greek solvency. The currency was at $1.2717 from $1.2714 at the close on Nov. 9, when it touched $1.2690, the lowest since Sept. 7. China’s yuan strengthened 0.26 percent, the most in six weeks, to 6.2291 per dollar after the central bank raised its reference rate. The currency climbed to a 19-year high, testing the upper limit of its permitted trading band around the People’s Bank of China’s daily fixing. The securities regulator said China will increase the quota for its Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor program that allows yuan raised overseas to be invested in stocks and bonds in domestic markets. To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Clenfield in Tokyo at jclenfield@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net

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