March 16 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks gained for a fourth day and futures signaled the Standard & Poor's 500 Index may extend a fifth weekly gain before U.S. data forecast to show consumer confidence and factory output rose. Treasuries fell for an eighth day, the longest stretch since 2006. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.5 percent at 8:37 a.m. in New York, trading at the highest level since July. S&P 500 futures rose 0.3 percent after the benchmark index closed at an almost four-year high yesterday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury added five basis points to 2.33 percent, bringing the increase since the streak began to 30 basis points. The five- year German note yield climbed to the highest this year, and the yen depreciated against 15 of 16 major peers. U.S. industrial output probably climbed 0.4 percent in February and consumer sentiment increased for a seventh month, economists said before reports today. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said yesterday rising oil prices show "we still face a dangerous and uncertain world" and there's no easy way to lower gasoline costs. "We spend a lot of time monitoring U.S. data and the way it's developing positively over the past few months is very encouraging," said Angus Gluskie, who manages more than $350 million as a managing director at White Funds Management in Sydney. "We are moving into the start of a more favorable upward spiral." Special Dividend Three shares gained for every two that fell in the Stoxx 600. Subsea 7 SA, the oilfield-services provider formerly known as Acergy SA, rose 5 percent after declaring a special dividend and saying it will buy back shares. Porsche SE retreated 3.3 percent as Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. downgraded the sports-car maker. Futures and options on equity indexes are expiring today in a process known as quadruple witching. The S&P 500 closed above 1,400 for the first time in almost four years yesterday after reports showed jobless claims matched the lowest level in four years and manufacturing in the New York region expanded at the fastest pace since June 2010. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment may have reached 76 in March, according to the median of 67 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. The 10-year Treasury note yield jumped 30 basis points in the week, on course for its biggest weekly decline in eight months. Irish 10-year bonds declined, with the yield rising nine basis points to 6.75 percent after Finance Minister Michael Noonan said he expects to cut the government's 1.3 percent economic growth forecast for this year when the government revises its figures next month, according to a ministry spokesman yesterday. The German five-year yield rose nine basis points to 1.07 percent. Default Risk The cost of insuring European sovereign bonds fell, with the Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe Index of credit-default swaps on 15 governments dropping one basis point to 227. The yen depreciated was poised for its sixth consecutive weekly decline against the dollar. The Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against those of six trading partners, slipped 0.1 percent. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.2 percent, trimming its weekly gain to 0.3 percent. India's Sensex index fell 1.2 percent and Russia's Micex Index lost 0.5 percent. China's Shanghai Composite Index increased 1.3 percent, halting a two- day slide. Emerging-market equity funds lured $456 million for the week ended March 14, Citigroup Inc. analysts led by Markus Rosgen wrote in a report today, citing data compiled by EPFR Global.

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