European Stock Futures Advance; Shell, Total May Rise on Oil

By Sarah Jones

Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- European stock-index futures climbed, indicating the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index may gain for the first time in six days, as a rebound in oil boosted the earnings outlook for energy producers.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA may lead oil companies higher after OPEC leaders said they may cut output further to bolster crude prices. Renault SA may rise after partner Nissan Motor Co. advanced on a report the carmakers are in talks with Chrysler LLC to buy assets.

Futures on the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the euro region, added 0.6 percent to 2,427 at 7:46 a.m. in London. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index may rise 26, according to GFT Global Markets, a betting firm. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained for the first time in five days, while U.S. index futures advanced.

“Moderate gains in Asian markets overnight look set to be the impetus for a break today of the five-day losing streak,” said Martin Slaney, head of derivatives trading at GFT in London.

A rally in energy producers helped send the MSCI Asia Pacific Index up 1.2 percent, while Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.4 percent. Most U.S. stocks climbed yesterday, led by oil and financial companies.

Europe’s Stoxx 600 declined 5.3 percent over the past five days as companies from Intel Corp. to Alcoa Inc. fuelled concern the global recession is snuffing out profit growth, commodity prices slid and unemployment in the U.S. climbed to the highest in almost 16 years.

Crude Oil

The regional benchmark stock index has slumped 45 percent since the start of last year as about $1 trillion in losses at financial companies eroded profits and the U.S., Europe and Japan fell into simultaneous recessions.

Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, and France’s Total may gain as crude rallied for a second day.

OPEC is willing to reduce crude production again to “preserve the price of oil,” Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said yesterday in Caracas. Saudi Arabia Oil Minister Ali al Naimi said the kingdom’s February output will be “lower than the target” set at the group’s Dec. 17 meeting.

Crude oil for February delivery rose as much 4.2 percent to $39.36 a barrel in New York.

Shares of Renault may rise after Nissan advanced for the first time in four days in Tokyo. Reuters reported the carmakers may bid for Chrysler LLC’s Jeep brand among other assets, citing three people with knowledge of the talks.

Reuters later said Renault denied it’s in discussion with Chrysler.

Nissan spokeswoman Pauline Kee declined to comment on the report. Chrysler spokeswoman Shawn Morgan declined to comment as did Peter Duda, a spokesman for Cerberus Capital Management LP, which owns Chrysler.

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