By Daniel Hauck Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Global stocks rose for the fifth time in six days, led by financial shares, as KBC Group NV reported a surprise profit and an industry group predicted U.K. house prices will increase this year. The yen fell. The MSCI World Index of 23 developed nations added 0.3 percent at 11:25 a.m. in London, and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index advanced 0.4 percent. The yen declined against 15 of the 16 most-traded currencies, while the Australian dollar rose. Companies in the MSCI World reporting profit that beat analysts’ estimates in the second quarter outnumbered those that missed by more than two-to-one, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, after central banks flooded the world’s financial system with trillions of dollars. The Bank of England and the European Central Bank meet today to grapple with monetary policy amid signs economies are recovering from the first global recession since World War II. “We can start to say the worst is over for banks, thanks to inexpensive money from the central banks,” said Lionel Heurtin, a fund manager at Ofi Asset Management in Paris, which oversees $24 billion. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index increased 0.8 percent as a gauge of banks climbed 2.3 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.7 percent. KBC, Aviva KBC surged 16 percent. The recipient of 7 billion euros ($10.1 billion) in Belgian bank-rescue funds reported a surprise profit as the value of its collateralized debt obligations increased. Aviva Plc rose 6.9 percent after the U.K.’s second- biggest insurer by market value swung to a first-half profit as margins on sales of life-insurance policies increased. Unilever climbed 5.4 percent in Amsterdam after the world’s second-largest consumer-goods maker beat analysts’ estimates for western European sales growth, helped by price cuts. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures fluctuated between gains and losses before a weekly report on initial jobless claims. The benchmark gauge for U.S. equities yesterday fell from a nine-month high after data on job losses and service industries were worse than economists estimated. MBIA Inc. jumped 17 percent in German trading. The largest bond insurer by total guarantees posted a profit of $894.7 million after recording $1.1 billion in pretax estimated recoveries. Russian, Chinese Stocks The Micex index of Russian stocks advanced 1 percent as a gauge of the economy showed the contraction in July was the smallest this year. Gross domestic product shrank 2.9 percent from a year earlier, compared with a contraction of 4.8 percent in June, according to VTB Capital’s indicator. China’s stocks declined for a second day, led by brokerages and commodities producers, on speculation the central bank will rein in lending to avert bubbles in equities and property. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 2.1 percent after the People’s Bank of China said in a quarterly report it will fine-tune monetary policy where necessary and guide loan growth. The Australian dollar climbed 0.4 percent against the yen after the nation’s statistics bureau said the number of people employed in the country unexpectedly rose in July. South Africa’s rand dropped the most in almost a month versus the U.S. dollar after house prices slid. The pound traded near a nine-month high against the dollar after the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said U.K. house prices will increase this year, reversing an earlier prediction for a drop of as much as 15 percent. Bank of England The Bank of England will say today whether it will halt an asset-purchase program started in March under which it has spent 125 billion pounds ($212 billion) buying corporate and government bonds to lower borrowing costs. Policy makers are likely to leave the key interest rate at a record low of 0.5 percent, according to all 60 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The European Central Bank may also leave its main refinancing rate at an all-time low of 1 percent today, a survey of 52 economists showed. Copper fell 1.9 percent to $6,079.75 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, declining for the first time in six days. Aluminum, nickel and zinc also snapped five days of gains. Wheat and corn retreated in Chicago trading and soybeans fell. The cost of protecting European corporate bonds from default fell, according to traders of credit-default swaps, with the Markit iTraxx Crossover Index of 45 companies with mostly high-yield credit ratings tumbling 15 basis points to 585, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. prices. That’s the biggest decline in a week and signals an improved perception of credit quality. To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Hauck in London at dhauck1@bloomberg.net.

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