Stocks in Europe, Asia, U.S. Futures Advance; Electrolux Gains

By Daniela Silberstein

Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks in Europe and Asia rose for a second day and U.S. index futures climbed as Electrolux AB and Aviva Plc posted results that beat analysts’ estimates, while governments stepped up efforts to revive economic growth.

Electrolux, the world’s second-largest appliance maker, added 5.2 percent on a smaller-than-forecast loss. Aviva advanced 7.7 percent after the U.K.’s biggest insurer said sales rose 9 percent in 2008. PT Bank Danamon Indonesia rallied 6.8 percent after the country’s central bank cut interest rates, while China Mobile Ltd. increased 2.7 percent as Xinhua News Agency said the government is releasing more stimulus funds.

The MSCI World Index gained 0.5 percent to 847.55 at 9:51 a.m. in London, trimming its 2009 decline to 7.9 percent. The gauge of 23 developed countries was valued as low as 10.5 times the earnings of its 1,685 companies last month, the cheapest since at least 1995, weekly data compiled by Bloomberg show.

“We are in the middle of a bottoming process,” said Herbert Perus, head of global equities at Raiffeisen Capital Management in Vienna, which has the equivalent of $62 billion. “You can find a lot of cheap companies. Most investors are underweight equities and this is a good sign for a recovery in equities,” he said in a Bloomberg Television interview.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.4 percent before reports that may show American service industries contracted at a faster pace in January and the labor market deteriorated. U.S. stocks yesterday snapped a three-day drop as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the government will step up efforts to fight the recession.

$1 Trillion

Governments around the world are stepping up efforts to revive a global economy burdened by more than $1 trillion of losses tied to the credit crisis. Indonesia’s central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate today for a third straight month. China’s government started investing the second allocation of a 4 trillion yuan ($580 billion) economic stimulus package, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Almost four stocks rose for every one that declined in Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index, which added 0.8 percent. A slump by Roche Holding AG limited the advance. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.8 percent.

The Stoxx 600 has dropped 3.5 percent in 2009 as earnings at the 168 companies in western Europe that have posted results this reporting season shrank 42 percent on average, Bloomberg data show. Analysts project a 1.6 percent drop in profits for companies in the Stoxx 600 this year following a 20 percent slump in 2008, the data indicate.

Electrolux, Aviva

Electrolux climbed 5.2 percent to 65.75 kronor. The company reported a fourth-quarter pretax loss of 530 million kronor ($64 million), compared with profit of 1.58 billion kronor a year earlier. Analysts estimated a loss of 701 million kronor. Electrolux will scrap its dividend to help maintain cash flow.

Aviva added 7.7 percent to 358.25 pence. The insurer will post a 9 percent increase in 2008 revenue driven by the U.K. and North America, and said it plans to scale back a promised 1 billion pound ($1.4 billion) payout to policyholders.

Life insurance and pension sales on a European embedded value basis climbed to 34.6 billion pounds. That beat the 33.6 billion-pound median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Danamon, Indonesia’s fifth-biggest bank by assets, surged 5.7 percent to 2,325 rupiah. China Mobile, the world’s largest wireless-phone company by users, gained 2.8 percent to HK$71.25.

Roche Slumps

Roche dropped 7.8 percent to 150 francs for the second- biggest retreat in the Stoxx 600. The Swiss drugmaker that went hostile last week in a bid for partner Genentech Inc. said profit unexpectedly fell last year, hurt by a weaker U.S. dollar and lower sales of Tamiflu.

Net income dropped to 8.97 billion Swiss francs ($7.84 billion) from 9.76 billion francs a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News expected earnings of 9.64 billion francs. Sales also declined.

Konecranes Oyj soared 8.5 percent to 13.61 euros. The Finnish company which makes one tenth of the world’s cranes reported fourth-quarter profit that beat analyst estimates, with net income totaling 50 million euros.

Alcatel-Lucent SA climbed 4.8 percent to 1.54 euros even after the world’s largest supplier of fixed-line phone networks posted an eighth straight quarterly loss as it wrote down the value of assets.

Lonmin Plc rose for a fourth straight day, adding 3.4 percent to 929.5 pence. The world’s third-largest platinum producer was upgraded to “neutral” from “sell” at UBS AG on expectations Xstrata Plc may make an offer for the company. Lonmin may also benefit from higher platinum prices over the next 12 months, the analysts said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniela Silberstein in Zurich at dsilberstei2@bloomberg.net.