The euro strengthened, approaching a 14-month high, and European stocks rose as policy makers prepared to meet. Spanish bonds pared declines after a debt sale, while natural gas and heating oil led gains in commodities as forecasters said a storm would dump 2 feet of snow on the U.S. Atlantic coast. The 17-nation currency appreciated 0.3 percent to $1.3557 at 10:15 a.m. in London. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.4 percent and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures increased 0.1 percent. The yield on Spain’s 10-year bonds rose 1.5 basis points to 5.46 percent. The pound strengthened and U.K. government bonds fell. Natural gas and heating oil advanced at least 0.4 percent. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi heads a meeting of policy makers and Bank of England officials decide on rates today as euro-area leaders begin a two-day summit in Brussels. Spain sold 4.61 billion euros ($6.3 billion) of securities, more than its 4.5 billion-euro maximum target. German industrial output probably rose in December and U.S. jobless claims retreated last week, economists said before reports today. “Market participants exercise caution ahead of the ECB, particularly with Europe’s political crisis hampering sentiment,� Stan Shamu, a market strategist at IG in Melbourne, wrote in an e-mail. The euro gained against all but one of its 16 major peers, advancing 0.4 percent versus the yen. Japan’s currency was little changed at 93.75 per dollar. New Zealand’s dollar slid against all its major counterparts after data showing that employers cut jobs. The 10-year gilt yield rose two basis points to 2.12 percent after future Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said in written evidence to a parliamentary committee that the central bank must exit unconventional policy. The pound gained 0.6 percent to $1.5746. Vodafone Climbs Vodafone Group Plc rose 1.9 percent as a gauge of telecommunications companies posted the biggest advance of 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600. The world’s second-largest mobile-phone company reiterated that operating profit for the year through March will be in the upper half of a range of 11.1 billion pounds ($17 billion) to 11.9 billion pounds. Alcatel- Lucent SA surged 7.4 percent after Ben Verwaayen stepped down as chief executive officer. Sanofi slid 3.8 percent as the French drugmaker forecast that profit may drop as much as 5 percent this year because of competition to a blood-thinning drug from generic medicines. Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed as investors awaited a report that may show fewer people filed claims for unemployment benefits last week. The Labor Department report at 8:30 a.m. in Washington will show that 360,000 made initial claims for jobless benefits, compared with 368,000 in the previous week, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Snow Forecast The S&P GSCI gauge of 24 commodities rose 0.3 percent. Eighteen to 24 inches (46 to 61 centimeters) of snow may fall in Boston, and the city has an 85 percent chance of receiving at least 12 inches from the storm that is expected to arrive tomorrow, the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts said yesterday. New York City may get 10 inches of snow or more. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index lost 0.3 percent, declining for a fourth day to a five-week low. India’s Sensex gauge slipped 0.3 percent after the government forecast the weakest economic growth in a decade. Russia’s Micex Index fell 0.1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.7 percent. The gauge, which entered a bull market last month, will retreat about 8 percent before resuming gains as the surge in Chinese stocks has exhausted buyers, technical analyst Tom DeMark said. To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net; Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net; To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at swallace6@bloomberg.net

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