European Stocks, U.S. Index Futures Advance; Asian Shares Fall

By Sarah Jones

Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks climbed after Nestle SA's forecast and Syngenta AG's results eased concern that the economic slump will stifle profit growth and shares trading near their cheapest on record lured investors. U.S. index futures advanced, while Asian shares declined.

Nestle, the world's largest food company, gained 4.5 percent after raising its forecast. Syngenta, the biggest maker of agricultural chemicals, climbed 3.7 percent. BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group dropped more than 5 percent as copper fell below $4,000 a ton.

Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added 0.5 percent to 210.51 at 8:49 a.m., snapping a two-day decline. Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1.6 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 3.3 percent.

``A whole raft of equities are cheap,'' said Jane Coffey, head of equities at Royal London Asset Management, which oversees about $63 billion. ``I would go with stocks that you feel more confident about their earnings. Nestle is a great example. They really do look like they are at the top of their game.''

The Stoxx 600 has plunged 43 percent in 2008 as credit- related losses and writedowns topped $660 billion in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Europe's Stoxx 600 was valued at 8.7 times the reported earnings of companies in the index yesterday. It traded at 8.5 percent times earnings on Oct. 10, the lowest level on record, and has averaged 16.2 times over the past five years based on weekly data compiled by Bloomberg. The MSCI World Index traded for 11.4 times the profit of its 1,730 companies, while the S&P 500 was valued at 18.3 times earnings.

Nestle, Syngenta

Nestle rose 4.5 percent to 44.90 francs after the company said nine-month sales increased 3.4 percent to 81.36 billion Swiss francs ($70 billion) and raised its forecast for annual revenue growth, helped by higher prices to cover costs for sugar, coffee and cocoa.

Syngenta climbed 3.7 percent to 174.4 francs after the chemical company said third-quarter sales climbed 33 percent to $2.28 billion, beating analyst estimates, as rising demand for grains encouraged farmers to buy more pesticides. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated sales of $2.06 billion.

Lowered Estimates

Analysts have cut profit forecasts this year as the credit turmoil spread, threatening economic growth. Earnings for companies in the Stoxx 600 will decline 4.4 percent in 2008, down from 11 percent growth predicted the start of the year, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

ABB Ltd., the world's largest builder of electricity grids, slipped 12 percent to 14.91 francs after saying orders at the Zurich-based supplier of factory robots and power substations advanced 7 percent to $8.89 billion. That is down from 33 percent growth a year earlier and short of the $9.56 billion predicted by analysts. Net income rose to a record $927 million, also short of analyst calculations.

BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, dropped 5.8 percent to 829 pence. Rio Tinto, the third-biggest mining company, sank 8.1 percent to 2,195 pence.

Copper led a retreat by base metals on the London Metal Exchange, falling below $4,000 a ton for the first time since November 2005. Gold dropped to the lowest in more than a year as the dollar gained.

Rio Tinto, fending off a $66 billion hostile bid from BHP, said the slump in nickel price is hurting producers in Western Australia. consumer confidence.

Credit Suisse Group slipped 2.7 percent to 45.3 pence after the Swiss bank posted a third-quarter loss of 1.26 billion Swiss francs ($1.08 billion), compared with a profit of 1.3 billion francs a year ago. The result was in line with a preliminary estimate Credit Suisse announced last week.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net.