European stocks rose for the first time in six days, paring their biggest weekly loss since early April, as investors awaited data on U.S. consumer confidence to gauge the outlook for the world’s largest economy. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares declined. Mediaset (MS) SpA led advancing shares, gaining 4.1 percent, after Exane BNP Paribas upgraded its recommendation on the stock. Ophir Energy Plc fell 3.9 percent after UBS AG downgraded the shares. Imagination Technologies Group Plc dropped 6.9 percent after Intel Corp. sold a 9.3 percent stake in the U.K. designer of chip technology for devices. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.1 percent to 342.24 at 10:28 a.m. in London. The benchmark gauge has declined 1.7 percent this week as investors weighed the crisis in Iraq and disappointing U.S. economic data. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures retreated 0.1 percent today, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.2 percent. “Investors are awaiting the next market-moving catalyst amid low volumes and volatility,� said Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Plc in London. “Ahead of today’s confidence data, the U.S. has provided some mixed messages this week.� The volume of shares changing hands in Stoxx 600-listed companies was 21 percent lower than the 30-day average for this time of the day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. American Consumers A report at 9:55 a.m. New York time may show that consumer confidence in the U.S. rose in June, negating a preliminary report that signaled a drop. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of sentiment will come in at 82, compared with the earlier estimate of 81.2 and a reading of 81.9 in May, economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted. James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said the U.S. economy is improving enough to withstand an increase in short-term interest rates next year. He predicted the pace of economic growth will accelerate to 3 percent this year after an unexpectedly deep first-quarter contraction. Mediaset gained 4.1 percent to 3.62 euros. Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the Italian broadcaster controlled by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to neutral from a rating similar to sell. Exane cited the possibility of a tie-up between Mediaset and Al-Jazeera network. Lundin Petroleum AB climbed 3.2 percent to 134.40 kronor. DNB Markets Inc. started coverage of the shares with a buy recommendation, citing its growth prospects. Ophir Energy lost 3.9 percent to 222.2 pence. UBS cut the oil explorer to neutral from buy, citing the company’s failure to find reserves in an offshore Gabon field. Imagination Technologies Group Plc (IMG) dropped 6.9 percent to 209.2 pence, taking its three-day decline to 17 percent. Intel Corp. sold 25 million shares at 205 pence apiece for a value of 51.25 million pounds ($87.3 million). Banco Espirito Santo SA declined 5.8 percent to 76.7 euro cents after research firm CreditSights downgraded the lender’s five-year senior credit-default swaps to underperform, or sell, rating, from market perform, or neutral. To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Morgan in Frankfurt at jmorgan157@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecile Vannucci at cvannucci1@bloomberg.net Srinivasan Sivabalan

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