BL: European Stocks Rise, Led by H&M, Swiss Life; U.S. Futures Gain
By Adria Cimino
March 27 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose, led by banks, insurers and mining companies, on higher earnings and improved forecasts. U.S. index futures gained, while Asian shares fell for the first time in five days.
Hennes & Mauritz AB, Europe's second-biggest clothing retailer, climbed the most in almost two months as first-quarter profit topped analysts' estimates. Insurer Swiss Life Holding rallied after posting record profit, and Man Group Plc gained after the hedge fund manager said earnings will top predictions.
Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added 1.4 percent to 308.74 as of 10:53 a.m. in London as all 18 industry groups gained except for technology. The index has lost 15 percent this year after credit losses and mortgage writedowns for banks worldwide reached more than $208 billion.
``Valuations are beginning to discount the worst of the downturn,'' said Richard Moore, who manages the Santander U.K. Growth Fund in London and owns Man Group shares. Santander Asset Management oversees $234 billion worldwide. ``One recent change I have made is to buy back into the banking sector.''
Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.6 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.8 percent.
Concern that the financial market turmoil will stifle economic growth has sent the price-earnings ratio for the Stoxx 600 to 11.2, near the lowest since at least January 2002, weekly Bloomberg data show. Earnings for companies in the index will probably rise only 2.8 percent this year, that's down from a forecast of 11 percent growth at the end of 2007, according to analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
National Markets
National benchmark indexes rallied in all 17 western European markets that were open. The U.K.'s FTSE 100, France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX all rose 1.2 percent.
Hennes & Mauritz advanced 4.6 percent to 353.5 Swedish kronor. The retailer said first-quarter profit rose 28 percent to 2.94 billion kronor ($493 million), beating the 2.8 billion-krona average estimate of seven analysts.
Swiss Life climbed 6.5 percent to 266.5 francs. Switzerland's largest life insurer said 2007 profit rose 44 percent to a record 1.35 billion Swiss francs ($1.36 billion) on the sale of its Belgian and Dutch units and the Banca del Gottardo private bank. That beat analysts' estimates.
Man Group gained 3.2 percent to 563 pence after the world's biggest publicly traded hedge fund manager said annual earnings will exceed analysts' estimates, helped by rising performance fees.
Q-Cells AG jumped 8.1 percent to 55.81 euros. Germany's largest solar-energy company expects to report 2008 revenue of 1.275 billion euros ($2 billion), compared with an earlier forecast of 1.2 billion euros.
Compass Group, Opap
Compass Group, the biggest provider of food services to companies, hospitals and schools, jumped 4.1 percent to 323.25 pence. Five-month sales and profit beat its forecasts after the company negotiated better terms with suppliers and won contracts.
Opap SA surged 9.5 percent to 21.90 euros. Europe's third- biggest publicly traded gaming company reported fourth-quarter profit that surpassed analysts' estimates. Net income climbed 13 percent to 174 million euros.
Public Power Corp. increased 8 percent to 26.90 euros. Greece's biggest electricity producer said profit surged 10-fold last year after it sold a stake in a telephone company.
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest mining company, gained 2.1 percent to 1,480 pence. Rio Tinto Group, the third- largest, climbed 2.1 percent to 5,157 pence.
Copper Climbs
Copper for delivery in three months climbed 2.1 percent to $8,350 a metric ton, bringing its gain for the past three days to 6.4 percent. Inventories in warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange dropped 825 tons to the lowest since Aug. 15.
Rentokil Initial Plc jumped 10 percent to 96.5 euros. Merrill Lynch & Co. added the world's largest pest-control company to its ``Europe 1'' list.
SAP AG, the largest business-management software maker, sank 4.2 percent to 31.26 euros, leading declines by technology companies. Cap Gemini SA, Europe's biggest computer-services firm, retreated 1.6 percent to 35.13 euros. Oracle Corp., the world's third-largest software maker, said customers delayed orders for business applications on concern that the U.S. economy is slowing.
To contact the reporter on this story: Adria Cimino in Paris at acimino1@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: March 27, 2008 06:59 EDT
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