European stocks rose and the euro rebounded from the lowest level since September 2010 before leaders meet to discuss rescue plans for the region and Germany and France sell debt. Copper fell, while Chinese stocks rallied the most in almost three months. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.2 percent as of 8:13 a.m. in London. The euro climbed 0.2 percent to $1.2746 after it earlier weakened to $1.2666. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed. Copper dropped 0.5 percent as tin and aluminum slumped. The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 2.9 percent on signs the government is taking steps to ease a cash crunch. The meeting of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Berlin today will be followed by a round of talks among euro-area leaders before the next summit in Brussels on Jan. 30. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti also will visit Berlin this week, and Sarkozy and Merkel will both travel to Rome on Jan. 20 for negotiations with the Italian government. India’s economy will expand about 7 percent in the year ending March 31, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, less than the December prediction of 7.5 percent. People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said yesterday that the nation must be ready to combat possible shocks from Europe’s debt crisis and an uncertain U.S. economic outlook, echoing comments by Premier Wen Jiabao. Debt Auctions Germany will sell 4 billion euros ($5.1 billion) of six- month bills, while France will auction a total of 7.7 billion euros of debt maturing in 364 days or less. German industrial production (GRIPIMOM) probably dropped 0.5 percent in November after a 0.8 percent increase the previous month, based on the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before the figures are released today. The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) rebounded following nine weeks of losses. China’s December lending and money supply growth exceeded economists’ estimates, signaling monetary conditions may be easing. New loans totaled 640.5 billion yuan ($101 billion) for the month, exceeding the estimates of all 18 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Copper for delivery in three months declined as much as 1.8 percent to $7,445 per metric ton. Inventories of the metal in the Shanghai Futures Exchange-monitored warehouses climbed to 105,258 tons last week, the highest since the week ending Sept. 16. To contact the reporters on this story: Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong at lthomasson@bloomberg.net; Jonathan Burgos in Singapore at jburgos4@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Shelley Smith at ssmith118@bloomberg.net

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