By Sarah Jones March 30 (Bloomberg) -- European stock-index futures rose as UBS AG was said to have generated about $2.3 billion of revenue at its fixed-income division in the first quarter. U.S. futures and Asian shares gained. UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank by client assets, rallied as much as 3.3 percent in pre-market trading. BHP Billiton Ltd. climbed 2.4 percent in Sydney after the company announced plans to start selling iron ore to Asian steel mills on short-term contracts, helping producers benefit from surging spot prices. Vinci SA might move after a report the world’s biggest builder is set to win a 7.2 billion-euro ($9.7 billion) contract. Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark measure for the euro region, climbed 0.4 percent at 7:34 a.m. in London. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index is heading for a fourth straight quarterly gain as concern eased that Greece will struggle to rein in Europe’s biggest budget deficit. The gauge has surged 67 percent since March 9 last year. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures rose 0.2 percent today before reports on U.S. home prices and consumer confidence. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 1 percent. UBS climbed as much as 3.3 percent in pre-market trading at Lang & Schwarz Wertpapierhandelsbank AG after people with knowledge of the situation said the bank generated about $2.3 billion of revenue at its fixed-income division in the first quarter as UBS rebuilt the unit following record losses. UB Revenue The bank may have revenue of almost $1 billion from credit alone, said the people, who declined to be identified because the figures haven’t been publicly released. BHP Billiton climbed 2.4 percent to A$44.41 in Sydney trading after the world’s biggest mining company ended a 40-year system of setting annual prices. Rio Tinto Group, the third-largest mining company, gained 1.1 percent to A$79.25. Vinci may be active in Paris trading after La Tribune reported on its Internet site that the company is set to win a contract to build and operate a new high-speed rail line linking Tours and Bordeaux. The newspaper cited unidentified officials. Bouygues SA and Eiffage SA also bid for the contract from railroad operator Reseau Ferre de France, La Tribune said. Swiss Life Swiss Life Holding AG might move after Switzerland’s largest life insurer slashed its dividend by more than half after full-year profit dropped 21 percent to 278 million Swiss francs ($262 million) on reorganization charges at its German unit AWD Holding AG. That compares with the 291 million-franc median estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The insurer cut its dividend to 2.40 francs per share from 5 francs. Allied Irish Banks Plc and Bank of Ireland Plc may be active after the shares tumbled more than 10 percent yesterday. Ireland’s Finance Minister Brian Lenihan will today set out his plans to free the country’s banks of toxic real-estate estates and kick start the financial system. Lenihan is due to speak in the Dublin parliament at about 5:30 p.m. Separately, the National Asset Management Agency will announce how much it will pay for the loans from lenders including Allied Irish and Bank of Ireland and the regulator will set new capital buffers banks must put in place. In the U.S., the S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities likely dropped 0.3 percent in January from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the median forecast of 18 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Separately, the New York-based Conference Board’s sentiment report, due at 10 a.m., may show consumer confidence this month recouped less than half of the 10.5-point drop in February. To contact the reporter on this story: Adria Cimino in Paris at acimino1@bloomberg.net.

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