European stocks rose for a fourth day amid optimism consumer spending in the U.S. will accelerate, boosting corporate profits worldwide. Companies dependent on exports, including Royal Philips Electronics NV and DaimlerChrysler AG, advanced. ``We're getting more and more evidence of a sustained recovery in the U.S.,'' said Konstantin Rerras, who manages $1.2 billion in European stocks at Helaba Invest GmbH in Frankfurt. ``This will bolster company profits worldwide and is boosting stocks, especially those of companies dependent on economic growth.'' The Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index added 0.7 percent to 2712.89 at 11:34 a.m. in London, headed for the longest streak of gains in more than a month. The Stoxx 600 climbed 0.6 percent and the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 12 countries using the euro, increased 1 percent.
Deutsche Bank AG increased. The German lender is in the ``early stages'' of reviewing a possible merger, Welt am Sonntag said, citing an unidentified Deutsche Bank manager. Credit Suisse Group and Barclays Plc, the two banks mentioned as possible partners in a tie-up, also climbed. The U.S., Europe's biggest export market, added 248,000 jobs in May, the Labor Department said on Friday. That beat the median forecast of 225,000 new jobs in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. The report fueled gains today by stocks in Asia, with Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average posting its biggest jump this year. U.S. stock-index futures also advanced. Borrowing by U.S. consumers may have increased for a 13th month in April as rising incomes gave people more confidence to handle debt, according to economists surveyed before today's report by the Federal Reserve.
Exporter Gains
Philips, Europe's biggest consumer-electronics maker, added 1.4 percent to 22.33 euros. The company gets more than a quarter of its sales in the U.S. Siemens AG, whose power equipment helps generate a third of the electricity in the U.S., climbed 1.9 percent to 59.49 euros. DaimlerChrysler, the world's fifth-largest carmaker, gained 1.2 percent to 37.87 euros. The U.S. accounted for 47 percent of its sales last year. The company's shares were lifted to ``neutral'' from ``reduce'' at UBS AG. The Stoxx 50 is poised for its longest streak of gains since the four days ended April 27 and the Stoxx 600's stretch is its longest since February. The Euro Stoxx 50's streak is its lengthiest since it ended a five-day advance on March 2. Benchmark indexes rose in all 16 Western European markets open for trading. Germany's DAX Index added 1.3 percent, France's CAC 40 Index rose 0.6 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index increased 0.7 percent. Ireland's stock exchange is closed for a holiday today. June futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 advanced 0.8 percent to 2794.
Credit Suisse, Barclays
Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest bank, increased 2.1 percent to 67.10 euros. The company may decide on a merger by the European fall, the newspaper said. Zurich-based Credit Suisse, where Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Officer Josef Ackermann was formerly a management board member, is the preferred partner, the paper said. Deutsche Bank spokesman Ronald Weichert, Credit Suisse spokeswoman Karin Rhomberg and Barclays spokesman George Hulbert declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News. Credit Suisse rose 2.9 percent to 45.05 Swiss francs. Barclays, the U.K.'s No. 3 lender, added 1.1 percent to 488 pence. The bank said it's adding 1,000 bank tellers to its branch network, while cutting the jobs of about 800 managers and support staff, as it tries to improve service.
Commerzbank, ING
ING Groep NV, the largest Dutch financial-services company, gained 1.9 percent to 19.19 euros. Commerzbank AG, Germany's third-biggest bank by assets, said it's negotiating with ING to buy its German banking business to expand in corporate lending and asset management. Commerzbank may pay 3 billion euros ($3.7 billion) to buy the unit, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported Saturday, without saying where it got the information. Commerzbank shares slipped 0.4 percent to 13.91 euros. Deutsche Post AG, Europe's biggest postal service, advanced 2.1 percent to 17.08 euros. The company said it plans to sell as much as 49.9 percent of Deutsche Postbank AG for between 31.50 euros to 36.50 euros a share. The lower end is five percent above Postbank's 4.9 billion-euro book value. EasyJet Plc, Europe's second-biggest low-cost airline, sank 16 percent to 169 pence. The shares dropped as much as 24 percent, reaching their lowest ever, after Chief Executive Ray Webster said in a statement that fuel costs may crimp earnings by 4 million pounds ($7.37 million) and ``the increasingly competitive nature of the European airline market may have a bearing on the growth in profits.''
Price Increases
Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe's third-biggest airline, advanced 0.7 percent to 11.43 euros. The company said it plans to raise its intercontinental ticket prices by 3 percent starting in July because of high oil prices. Carriers worldwide might lose as much as a combined $3 billion on international routes this year if crude oil prices average $36 a barrel, the International Air Transport Association said. Roche Holding AG gained 0.8 percent to 133 Swiss francs. The biggest maker of cancer medicines and its partner Genentech Inc., said that their colon-cancer drug Avastin, combined with Tarceva, an experimental lung-cancer medicine that Genentech is developing with partners, led to tumor shrinkage in about 62 percent of patients. ImClone jumped 7.6 percent to $77.99 in Germany. Merck KGaA, Germany's fourth-largest drugmaker, climbed 3.7 percent to 51.01 euros, reaching its highest share-price ever after a study showed the Erbitux cancer drug it's developing with ImClone Systems Inc. helped patients with head and neck cancers live twice as long as those getting standard treatment.
Earnings Reiteration
Air Liquide SA, the world's biggest maker of gases for industry, added 0.6 percent to 146.2 euros. The company reiterated that earnings will improve this year from last year, Le Journal des Finances reported, citing an interview with Air Liquide Chief Executive Officer Benoit Potier. Finmeccanica SpA and Alcatel SA gained. The companies have reached a preliminary agreement to form two joint ventures joining their space units, daily Il Sole24 Ore reported, without saying how it got the information. Spokesmen from the two companies were not immediately available to comment. Finmeccanica advanced 0.7 percent to 62 cents, and Alcatel rose 1.5 percent to 11.68 euros. European stocks climbed last week as falling oil prices and better-than-expected U.S. job creation bolstered investor optimism about corporate earnings growth. ///www.bloomberg.com