BLBG: European, Asian Shares Rise; U.S. Index Futures Gain on Oracle
June 24 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks gained, with the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rebounding from its biggest two-day drop since April, as raw-material producers climbed with commodities and Oracle Corp.’s earnings lifted technology companies. Asian shares and U.S. futures advanced.
Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-largest mining company, rallied 3 percent as copper, lead and nickel gained in London. SAP AG, the world’s biggest maker of business-management software, added 1.4 percent on Oracle’s results. Oracle, the second-largest software maker, increased 2.1 percent in Germany.
The Stoxx 600 rose 0.3 percent at 8:16 a.m. in London. The regional gauge has still retreated 6.1 percent since June 11 amid speculation share prices have outpaced the outlook for economic growth after a three-month rally drove valuations to 25.4 times earnings, the highest level since 2004.
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures increased 0.5 percent today. U.S. stocks rose yesterday as higher oil and metal prices lifted commodity shares and a better-than-estimated auction of Treasury notes eased concern that record government borrowing will push interest rates higher. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.9 percent today.
SAP, Oracle
SAP advanced 1.4 percent to 28.43 euros. Oracle reported fourth-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates after customers renewed contracts for product updates and support. Oracle added 2.1 percent to $20.29.
Rio Tinto rose 3 percent to 2,079 pence. Copper climbed 1.7 percent on the London Metal Exchange, while lead gained 1.4 percent.
Iberdrola SA increased 1.2 percent to 5.71 euros after UBS AG lifted its recommendation on Spain’s largest utility to “buy” from “neutral.”
Continental AG advanced 1.5 percent to 19.76 euros. Europe’s second-largest car parts maker and affiliate Schaeffler Group are still in talks on a possible combination, said Detlef Sieverdingbeck, a spokesman at Schaeffler.
Federal Reserve officials today may seek to reassure investors they can keep short-term interest rates at a record low without igniting inflation. The Fed’s Open Market Committee, concluding a two-day meeting, may stress that increasing slack in the economy will contain consumer prices into next year, analysts said.
Orders for U.S. durable goods probably fell in May for the second time in three months, a sign companies still lack confidence the recession will soon end, economists said before a report at 8:30 a.m. in Washington from the Commerce Department. At 10 a.m., Commerce may say new-home sales rose 2.3 percent to a 360,000 annual pace in May from a 352,000 rate the prior month, according to the survey median.
