European stocks advanced, as the Stoxx Europe 600 Index pared its weekly drop, rebounding from concern the region’s so-called peripheral countries are slipping back into trouble. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares fell.
Imperial Tobacco Group Plc advanced 2.9 percent after saying it is in talks with Reynolds American Inc. and Lorillard Inc. to buy some assets and brands. Symrise AG gained 4.2 percent after a report that Japan’s Ajinomoto Co. is interested in buying the German chemical manufacturer. Indesit Co. added 2.9 percent after Whirlpool Corp. agreed to pay $1 billion for a controlling stake in Italian appliance maker.
The Stoxx 600 rose 0.4 percent to 337.6 at 8:19 a.m. in London. The benchmark gauge has declined 3 percent this week as investors weigh valuations near the highest levels since 2009 amid concern the euro-area recovery remains fragile. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures climbed less than 0.1 percent today, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.4 percent.
The Stoxx 600 fell 1.1 percent yesterday, falling for a fifth day, amid concern over the affairs of Banco Espirito Santo SA. Portugal’s central bank said the lender is protected after its parent didn’t make the payments on short-term paper.
Trading in Banco Espirito Santo SA was suspended yesterday. The lender has now disclosed an exposure of 1.18 billion euros ($1.6 billion) to companies of Grupo Espirito Santo after a group company missed some debt payments.
Banks in Portugal, Italy and Spain sank yesterday, sending an industry gauge to the fourth slump in five days. The value of equities in those countries and Greece is falling after rising 13 percent in the first six months of 2014, compared with a 2 percent gain for the market capitalization of stocks in the U.K., Germany and France.
In the U.K., house-price growth slowed in June as new mortgage regulations damped activity, a survey showed. Values in England and Wales rose 0.7 percent from May, when they had increased 1 percent, according to data complied by Acadata Ltd. Prices gained 9.6 percent from a year earlier to 268,637 pounds ($459,900), the real-estate research firm and LSL Property Services Plc said in a report.
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