By Adria Cimino July 29 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose as earnings from Akzo Nobel NV and Bayer AG beat analysts’ projections, overshadowing declining commodity prices and a wider-than- estimated loss from ArcelorMittal SA. Asian shares and U.S. index futures fell. Akzo Nobel, the world’s largest maker of coatings and paints, and Bayer, which supplies plastics to the automotive industry, advanced more than 5.4 percent. PSA Peugeot Citroen and Daimler AG jumped at least 5.2 percent after posting narrower-than-estimated losses. Jiangxi Copper Co. slumped 9 percent in Shanghai after forecasting a decline in profit, leading Chinese stocks to the steepest drop in eight months. ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, slid 3.7 percent. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index climbed 1 percent to 220.75 at 12:57 p.m. in London. The measure has surged 12 percent since July 10 after companies from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Roche Holding AG and Apple Inc. posted results that exceeded estimates and U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the world’s largest economy is showing “tentative signs of stabilization.” Earnings “kicked off this rally,” said Lothar Mentel, chief investment officer at Octopus Investments Ltd. in London, which oversees $2.3 billion. “A lot of other factors are also improving the sentiment of investors. I see the market definitely going higher by the end of the year.” Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen said yesterday that the U.S. economy is showing the “first solid signs” of emerging from the recession and should resume growth later this year. U.S. Stocks U.S. stocks fell yesterday and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index retreated from an eight-month high as consumer confidence trailed projections and companies from Office Depot Inc. to Coach Inc. posted worse-than-estimated results. S&P 500 futures slipped 0.4 percent today. While the S&P 500 is up 11 percent since July 10 after companies from Intel Corp. to Mattel Inc. beat estimates, Bloomberg data shows per-share profits have dropped 28 percent on average for companies that reported since July 8. Akzo Nobel jumped 10 percent to 38.61 euros. Earnings before interest, taxes, amortization and depreciation fell 9 percent to 527 million euros ($746 million), beating a 414 million-euro prediction from an analyst survey. Bayer soared 5.4 percent to 42.20 euros. The company said net income dropped to 532 million euros, beating the 393.1 million-euro median estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. European Earnings More than half of per-share earnings at European companies that have reported results since July 8 beat analyst forecasts, according to Bloomberg data. Profits in the Stoxx 600 fell 35 percent on average in the period, while 60 out of 109 companies have reported better-than-estimated results, the data show. The Stoxx 600’s valuation has climbed to 28.3 times the earnings of its companies, the highest level since January 2004, according to Bloomberg data. Peugeot soared 9.6 percent to 20.18 euros. France’s biggest automaker reported a 962 million-euro net loss for the first half as it slashed production amid the global slump in auto sales. Analysts had expected a loss of 971.5 million euros, according to the median of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Daimler advanced 5.2 percent to 31.65 euros. The world’s second-largest maker of luxury cars and reported a 1.06 billion- euro second-quarter net loss, narrower than the 1.14 billion- euro median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of analysts, and forecast a “gradual improvement” in operating profit. Asian Stocks The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 1.3 percent, the first decline in 12 days, as lower commodity prices and disappointing profit reports raised concern the rally had made equities expensive relative to earnings prospects. The Shanghai Composite Index plunged 5 percent, the biggest drop in since Nov. 18. Jiangxi Copper, China’s largest producer of the metal, plummeted 9 percent to 42.62 yuan after saying first-half profit may fall between 57 percent and 64 percent from a year earlier. Copper fell the most in three weeks in London on speculation prices climbed too high to reflect swelling inventories. ArcelorMittal sank 3.7 percent to 24.40 euros after reporting a second-quarter net loss of $792 million. Analysts had forecast a $375 million loss. Tata Drops Tata Steel Ltd. slid 6.1 percent to 442.35 rupees in Mumbai. India’s biggest steel producer reported first-quarter net income of 7.9 billion rupees ($160 million), missing the 9.45 billion-rupee median estimate of five analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Sales slipped to 55.54 billion rupees from 61.65 billion rupees. Infineon Technologies AG rallied 4.5 percent to 2.78 euros. Europe’s second-largest chipmaker forecast sales growth in the fourth quarter after reporting a smaller loss than analysts had expected. Rhodia SA increased 11 percent to 6.41 euros. France’s largest maker of specialty chemicals said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization would improve in the third quarter compared with the second. To contact the reporter on this story: Adria Cimino in Paris at acimino1@bloomberg.net.

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