Global stocks advance on Cyprus fate

Global stocks rose, snapping a three-day loss, as policy makers weighed options for keeping Cyprus in the euro area. U.S. index futures also climbed, while Asian shares excluding Japan were little changed.

Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Agricole SA paced a rebound in bank stocks, both increasing more than 1.5 percent. Mediaset SpA, Elementis Plc (ELM) and Dufry AG also advanced as analysts upgraded the shares. Royal Imtech (IM) NV gained 2.9 percent after reaching an agreement with its main financiers.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.3 percent to 296.47 at 10:09 a.m. in London after falling 1 percent in the past three days. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures added 0.4 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Excluding Japan Index lost 0.1 percent.

Cyprus is "not a really major economic issue," Laurence D. Fink, chief executive officer of BlackRock Inc., told Susan Li on Bloomberg Television in Hong Kong. "It's a $10 billion issue. To me this is just temporary. I think Cyprus was just one of the elements that people are saying 'let me pause here'. We are going through a digestive stage right now." European stocks fell yesterday before Cypriot lawmakers voted on the 5.8 billion-euro ($7.5 billion) bank-deposit levy which was rejected after the close of trade. U.S. equities extended the drop while Asian shares fluctuated as a rally in Chinese shares limited the benchmark's decline. Luxembourg Finance Minister Luc Frieden called for the 17 euro-area finance ministers to reconvene quickly to put together a new package for Cyprus, after the rejection of the levy threw an earlier bailout plan into limbo.