The euro strengthened, European stocks rose and Spanish bonds gained for a seventh day before the European Central Bank meets. Britain’s pound rebounded after the Bank of England kept its bond purchase program unchanged. The euro climbed 0.4 percent to $1.3015 at 12:13 p.m. in London and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index (MXAP) increased 0.3 percent. The pound climbed 0.2 percent. Spain’s 10-year bond yield fell seven basis points to 4.9 percent as the nation sold 5.03 billion euros ($6.56 billion) of debt. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which closed at a record high yesterday, rose 0.2 percent and S&P 500 futures gained 0.1 percent. Copper added 0.4 percent and Asian stocks fell from a 19-month high. The ECB will keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low today, a Bloomberg survey of analysts showed. The Bank of England maintained its target for quantitative easing at 375 billion pounds ($562 billion). The Bank of Japan rejected a call for an immediate start to open-ended asset purchases in Governor Masaaki Shirakawa’s last meeting. U.S. nonfarm payrolls probably rose in February, economists said before the report tomorrow. “Before central bank meetings, there is often a lot of re- positioning,� said Ned Rumpeltin, the head of group of 10 currency strategy at Standard Chartered Plc in London. “The euro is having a pretty good day. The ECB hasn’t prepared the market in any obvious way for a rate cut.� Spain Auction The Spanish Treasury met its maximum target at the debt auction in Madrid today. Demand for the 2018 note was 2.32 times the amount sold, up from 2.24 last month. The 10-year benchmark yield was 4.917 percent, down from 5.202 percent on Feb. 21, the Bank of Spain said. That’s the lowest yield since November 2010. The advance in Spanish bonds pushed the 10-year yield to the lowest since Jan. 14. Portugal’s 10-year yield fell 17 basis points to 5.847 percent, the least since Jan. 24. U.K. 10-year bond yields rose four basis points to 1.99 percent. The euro’s advance lifted it from yesterday’s low of $1.2965, the weakest level since Dec. 11. The 17-nation currency appreciated 0.5 percent to 122.53 yen and climbed 0.5 percent to 86.76 British pence. The cost of insuring against losses on French government debt climbed after a report showed the nation’s unemployment rate rose to a 13-year high in the fourth quarter. Credit- default swaps on the country’s sovereign debt increased 4 basis points to 80. Aggreko Rally Aggreko Plc (AGK) jumped 14 percent, the most since 2002, after the world’s largest provider of mobile power supplies reported higher annual profit and forecast “double digit� average revenue growth over the next five years. Adidas AG climbed 4.5 percent as the second-largest sporting-goods maker forecast an increase in earnings. Aviva Plc (AV/), the U.K.’s second-biggest insurer, plunged 13 percent, the most in almost four years, after cutting its second-half dividend by 44 percent. National Express Group Plc slid 10 percent as the rail and bus operator’s biggest investor, Elliott Advisors, sold a 9.9 percent stake. The Dow rose 0.3 percent yesterday to extend an all-time high. A Labor Department report at 8:30 a.m. in Washington may show initial claims for jobless benefits increased to 355,000 last week from 344,000 in the previous period, according to economist forecasts compiled by Bloomberg. Data tomorrow may show U.S. employers added 163,000 people to payrolls in February, a separate survey indicates. German Orders Copper gained to $7,720.25 a metric ton. German factory orders for January fell 1.9 percent in January, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said. Economists forecast a 0.6 percent gain, according to the median of 41 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of shares fell 0.3 percent, retreating from 19-month high reached yesterday, as Chinese and South Korean stocks slumped. China’s exports probably grew 8.1 percent last month, slowing from January’s 25 percent gain, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed before tomorrow’s trade report. The Shanghai Composite Index slid 1 percent. South Korea’s KOSPI (KOSPI) lost 0.8 percent, declining for the first time in three days. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index slipped 0.3 percent. Shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSEASI) jumped 1.1 percent, climbing for a sixth day. The counting of presidential votes continues in Kenya, with partial results showing Uhuru Kenyatta, a deputy prime minister, in the lead. To contact the reporters on this story: Claudia Carpenter in London at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net; Pratish Narayanan in Mumbai at pnarayanan9@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at swallace6@bloomberg.net

Source