By Corinne Gretler - Nov 29, 2011 4:34 PM GMT+0700
European stocks pared their decline as chemical makers rebounded before euro-area finance ministers meet to discuss insuring a portion of bonds issued by debt- stricken countries. Asian stocks and U.S. index futures rose.
Banks led losses after Moody’s Investors Service said it’s considering lowering debt ratings for European (SXXP) lenders. Colruyt SA (COLR), Belgium’s biggest discount food retailer, plunged to its lowest price since 2007 after reporting worse-than-estimated fiscal first-half profit.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid less than 0.1 percent to 229.8 at 9:32 a.m. in London. The Stoxx 600 rallied 3.8 percent yesterday amid speculation the euro area’s policy makers are intensifying their efforts to contain the region’s debt crisis. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) jumped 1.7 percent and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures advanced 0.3 percent.
Finance ministers from the 17-member monetary union meet in Brussels today to debate using their bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, to insure sovereign debt with guarantees.
President Barack Obama said agreeing on a sufficient response to Europe’s problems is of “huge importance” to the U.S., after meeting yesterday with European Union President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Barroso.
“We’ve got a stake in their success, and we will continue to work in a constructive way to try to resolve this issue in the near future,” Obama said at the White House after the annual U.S.-EU summit. Barroso said that “no one in Europe” is discussing a breakup and that “everybody is speaking” of further integration among euro-area states.
To contact the reporter on this story: Corinne Gretler in Zurich at cgretler1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net
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