European stocks advanced, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index snapping two days of losses, as companies from Statoil ASA (STL) to Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (RB/) posted earnings that exceeded analysts’ estimates. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares rose.
Statoil climbed 2.1 percent after reporting profit that more than doubled on rising oil prices. Reckitt Benckiser rallied after saying 2012 sales will increase at a faster pace than the industry. Vestas Wind Systems A/S (VWS) tumbled 14 percent, its biggest retreat in a month, as the company posted an annual loss four times wider than analysts had estimated.
The Stoxx 600 added 0.3 percent to 264.21 at 12:04 p.m. in London, extending its rally from last year’s low to 23 percent. The measure has climbed 8 percent so far this year as investors speculated that Greece will accept the spending cuts needed to obtain further financial aid. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March were little changed today, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 1.3 percent.
“I’m assuming for the moment that Greece will stay in the euro zone and this week or next week we will have an agreement on Greek debt talks,” Bob Parker, a senior adviser at Credit Suisse Asset Management, said in an Bloomberg Television interview. “For the next few months, we’ll probably flat line in markets. In the second half, there is very strong ground to start a one- to two-year rally.”
Greece’s Prime Minister Lucas Papademos postponed a meeting yesterday with the heads of the three political parties that support his government.
Met the Troika
Papademos instead met the troika -- the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund -- to haggle over the terms needed to secure further aid, a spokeswoman said. He will meet the party leaders at 3 p.m. in Athens today, his office said.
Of the 93 Stoxx 600 companies that have reported quarterly earnings since Jan. 9, 44 have beaten analysts’ estimates, compared with 44 that missed projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The Portugal PSI 20 Index jumped 2.6 percent for the biggest gain among the 18 western European markets. Banco Espirito Santo SA (BES) surged 15 percent to 1.69 euros, while Banco Comercial Portugues SA (BCP) soared 20 percent to 21.1 euro cents.
Leadership Change
Banco Comercial rose on speculation that Portugal’s second- biggest bank’s plan to change its chief executive officer has prompted investors to stop betting the shares will fall. Banco Comercial said on Jan. 30 that CEO Carlos Santos Ferreira will leave his post and Nuno Amado, former CEO at the Portuguese unit of Banco Santander SA, may replace him.
Statoil climbed 2.1 percent to 153.10 kroner. Norway’s national oil company reported fourth-quarter net income of 25.5 billion kroner ($4.4 billion), beating the average analyst estimate for income of 13.3 billion kroner.
Reckitt Benckiser advanced 2.9 percent to 3,479 pence. The maker of Nurofen painkillers and Dettol kitchen spray said 2012 sales will increase at a faster pace than the industry after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that beat estimates.
Non-pharmaceutical revenue will climb 3 percent to 4 percent this year, compared with growth of 1 percent to 2 percent in the broader market, the company said, adding that it aims to maintain profitability.
Vestas plunged 14 percent to 57.80 kroner for the largest slump on the Stoxx 600. The world’s biggest wind-turbine maker reported an annual loss of 166 million euros ($220 million), according to its annual report. The average estimate of 16 analysts called for a loss of 40.3 million euros, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Nexans Shares Gain
Nexans SA (NEX) jumped 7.3 percent to 50.96 euros. The world’s second-largest maker of cables and wires reported an increase in its 2011 operating profit margin and predicted further revenue growth this year.
Sanofi declined 1.3 percent to 55.77 euros. France’s biggest drugmaker said profit may drop as much as 15 percent this year, hurt by generic competition to its Plavix blood- thinner and Avapro hypertension drug in the U.S.
Earnings per share excluding some costs will probably decline 12 percent to 15 percent at constant exchange rates, Paris-based Sanofi said. Cheaper copies of Plavix and Avapro will wipe out about 1.4 billion euros of profit this year, the company said.
Marine Harvest ASA dropped 1.7 percent to 3.16 kroner. The world’s biggest salmon farmer predicted a “challenging supply situation” in 2012. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings before interest and taxes of 403 million kroner, exceeding the average analyst estimate of 356 million kroner.
Mobistar SA (MOBB) sank 10 percent to 36.25 euros. Belgium’s second-biggest mobile-phone company forecast that the decline in its profit will accelerate this year, missing analysts’ estimates. Net income will drop to 182.5 million euros, plus or minus 12.5 million euros, the company said. That compared with analyst projections for 2012 profit of 220.8 million euros, the average of 13 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
To contact the reporter on this story: Adria Cimino in Paris at acimino1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net
