By Gavin Serkin April 29 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks rose as companies from Siemens AG to Unilever NV reported better-than-estimated earnings. Higher-yielding currencies strengthened after the Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates at a record low. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.9 percent at 11:53 a.m. in London. Greece’s ASE Index jumped 6.4 percent. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced 0.5 percent. South Africa’s rand strengthened the most in four weeks, rising 1.4 percent against the dollar. The extra yield investors demand to hold Greek 10-year bonds instead of benchmark German bunds narrowed 91 basis points to 602 basis points. Investor confidence is recovering after almost three- quarters of companies in the MSCI World Index that reported earnings topped analysts’ estimates. European confidence in the economic outlook improved to the highest in more than two years and German unemployment plunged. Fed policy makers restated a pledge yesterday to keep interest rates near zero for an extended period and European leaders met to stop Greece’s debt crisis from spreading. “The Fed statement reassured people and nullified the impact of euro-area concerns,” said Brian Jackson, a senior emerging-markets strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Hong Kong. “It’s a case of the FOMC trumping Greece and Spain.” The MSCI World Index of 23 developed nations’ stocks rose 0.4 percent. Food and beverage stocks led gains in Europe as Unilever, the world’s second-largest food and detergent company, rallied 3.6 percent in Amsterdam after saying profit rose 33 percent. Pernod Ricard SA, the maker of Absolut vodka, rallied 4.2 percent in Paris after raising its forecast for full-year earnings. Siemens, Europe’s largest engineering company, advanced 1.1 percent in Frankfurt after profit topped estimates. First-Quarter Earnings The gain in U.S. futures indicated the S&P 500 may extend yesterday’s 0.7 percent rally. With the first-quarter earnings season nearing the half-way point, S&P 500 companies have beaten analysts’ estimates by an average of 20 percent on a per-share basis, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Procter & Gamble Co., the world’s largest consumer-products company, and Exxon Mobil Corp. are among 55 companies in the benchmark gauge scheduled to report today. The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell by 11,000 to 445,000 in the week ended April 24, according to the average of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The Labor Department’s initial jobless report is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. in Washington. The rand appreciated for the first time in three days as investors bought currencies in countries with higher interest rates. Brighter economic prospects in Asia and widening interest-rate differentials are likely to attract more capital, while bets for exchange-rate appreciation in the region may boost so-called carry trades, the IMF said in a report today. Ruble Strengthens Malaysia’s ringgit climbed 0.6 percent, the most in two weeks. Hungary’s forint, the Polish zloty and Czech koruna rose against the euro. The ruble gained after Russia’s central bank cut its main interest rates for the 13th time in a year, the last so-called BRIC country still lowering borrowing costs. Brazil’s central bank yesterday became the first in Latin America to increase its main rate in more than a year, spurring a surge in the real. New Zealand’s dollar fell after central bank Governor Alan Bollard indicated he may raise interest rates at a slower pace than in previous cycles. The euro strengthened to $1.3242, after trading at $1.3115 yesterday, the lowest level in a year. Investors demanded an extra 6.76 percentage points in yield to buy Greece’s 10-year bonds rather than benchmark German bunds, after the difference in yield, or spread, widened to more than 8 percentage points yesterday. Fastest Pace German unemployment declined at the fastest pace in more than two years in April, the Nuremberg-based Federal Labor Agency said today. An index of executive and consumer sentiment in the 16 euro nations rose to 100.6 in April from a revised 97.9 in March, the European Commission in Brussels said today. Spanish 10-year bonds rose, cutting the yield by 2 basis points to 4.19 percent. The Italian 10-year bond yield rose 2 basis points as the nation sold 8 billion euros ($11 billion) of securities due in 2012, 2017 and 2020. Tin for delivery in three months added as much as 2.4 percent to $18,425 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, the steepest advance since April 20. Aluminum and nickel also gained. Gold rose 0.2 percent to $1,167.40 an ounce in London and crude oil added 1 percent to $84.06 a barrel in New York. To contact the reporters for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net.

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