European stocks gained, paced by technology companies such as Royal Philips Electronics NV, after International Business Machines Corp., the world's largest computer maker, and Texas Instruments Inc. posted better-than- expected earnings. Benchmarks gained the most since Oct. 1. Airline stocks gained, led by British Airways Plc, as crude oil futures fell for a third day in London, easing concern high oil prices might erode economic and corporate profit growth.
``News from the tech companies suggests that the fourth quarter is looking better,'' said Calvin Vaudin, a fund manager at Ashburton Ltd. in Jersey, Channel Islands, which oversees the equivalent of about $1.4 billion. ``If the oil price continues to fall that will be good for the stock market.'' The Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index rose 1.2 percent to 2715.89 as of 11:52 a.m. in London. The Stoxx 600 advanced 1.1 percent, with all 18 industry groups rising, led by the Technology Index. The Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 12 countries using the euro, climbed 1.4 percent. Benchmark indexes rose in all 18 Western European Markets except Iceland. France's CAC 40 Index advanced 1.5 percent,. Germany's DAX Index also climbed 1.5 percent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose 0.9 percent. December futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 added 0.8 percent.
Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx indexes had their biggest advance since Oct. 1, as did the national benchmarks the CAC, DAX and FTSE 100.
Philips, Airlines
Philips, Europe's biggest consumer-electronics maker, gained 2.5 percent to 18.34 euros, following a three-day decline. Ericsson AB, the world's biggest maker of mobile-phone networks, climbed 2.2 percent to 23.5 kronor. Nokia Oyj, the No. 1 handset maker, advanced 2.7 percent to 12 euros. IBM, the world's largest computer maker, reported third- quarter profit, excluding an 11-cent charge for pension claims, of $1.17 a share. That beat the average estimate by Thomson Financial of $1.14. Texas Instruments, the biggest maker of mobile-phone chips, said third-quarter profit rose 26 percent, exceeding the average analyst estimate by Thomson Financial. ``If oil goes down and we keep getting these earnings it improves the outlook for corporate profits and stocks,'' said Luis Benguerel, who helps manage $75 million in equities at Interbrokers SA in Barcelona, Spain. ``We can expect more gains for markets in coming days.'' He is buying shares today, including stock of Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA, Spain's largest airline.
Airlines' Costs
British Airways, Europe's second-largest airline, advanced 3.1 percent to 206.75 pence. Air France-KLM Group, Europe's biggest carrier, climbed 46 percent to 13.18 euros. Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe's third-largest airline, rose 2.1 percent to 9.73 euros. Fuel costs, the second-biggest expense for carriers after labor, will slash worldwide airline profits by $6 billion this year, according to the 270-member International Air Transport Association. Brent crude oil futures for December settlement fell as much as 1.8 percent to $48.03 a barrel on London's International Petroleum Exchange, and last traded at $48.43.
Crude oil futures fell 1.6 percent to $52.80 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, extending the contract's 2.3 percent fall yesterday, the biggest decline in six weeks. OPEC, which pumps more than a third of the global supply, said near-record prices may reduce growth in demand. Oil prices rose 74 percent in the last 12 months and gained in 19 of the last 23 sessions. ``Equity markets have had everything thrown at them this year, including oil at $55 a barrel,'' said Andy Brough, a fund manager at Schroder Investment Management in London, which oversees the equivalent of $6.5 billion in stock. ``Yet the market is still in positive territory.''
Akzo Nobel, Bayer
Akzo Nobel NV, the largest Dutch drug and chemicals maker, advanced 3.7 percent to 29.28 euros after saying third-quarter profit almost tripled to 521 million euros ($649.6 million), boosted by one-time gains from disposals. This was higher than the median estimate of 176 million euros of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Bayer AG, Germany's second-biggest drug and chemicals company, advanced 1.9 percent to 22.52 euros after saying its Lanxess chemicals unit will raise prices for inorganic pigments because of higher costs for raw materials, energy and transportation.
Prudential, EADS
Prudential Plc, Britain's second-biggest insurer, dropped 6.1 percent to 430.25 pence after saying it plans to raise 1 billion pounds ($1.8 billion) through the sale of new shares to help fund an expansion in the U.K. and comply with rules on capital reserves. Prudential said it will offer investors one new share for six existing shares at 308 pence per share. European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co., Europe's biggest aerospace company, advanced 2.2 percent to 22.18 euros. UBS AG raised its recommendation on the shares to ``buy'` from ``neutral.'' L'Oreal SA, the world's largest cosmetics maker, rose 1.8 percent to 53.15 euros. The company releases third-quarter sales figures tomorrow. Analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. wrote that the ``luxury products division in particular should have continued to benefit from the positive momentum of high-end cosmetics and fragrances in U.S. department stores.''
, Credit Agricole
Group Plc, the world's largest publicly traded provider of financial information, climbed 7.9 percent to 348.5 pence. The company said third-quarter revenue at its main unit, which sells terminals to banks, dropped 13 percent from the year- earlier period to 570 million pounds ($1.02 billion) as customers reduced spending. This exceeded the 568 million-pound the median forecast of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Bloomberg LP, the owner of Bloomberg News, competes with in providing news, information, and trading systems to the financial-services industry. Bloomberg Tradebook competes with Instinet in the business of matching stock trade orders. Credit Agricole SA, France's biggest bank, advanced 2.9 percent to 23.21 euros. Edouard Esparbes, the chief executive of Calyon, the lender's investment-banking arm, said the unit aims to more than double revenue from equity trading and derivatives to 1.8 billion euros ($2.3 billion) within about four years, the Financial Times cited him as saying in an interview. Deutsche Postbank AG, Germany's biggest consumer bank by clients, added 1.5 percent to 31.12 euros. The company had its long-term debt outlook raised by Moody's Investors Service following a similar change at shareholder Deutsche Post AG. ///www.bloomberg.com