European stocks rise this week on US economic reports

European stocks climbed this week as Moody’s Investors Service reiterated its investment-grade debt rating on Spain following a review and US reports on retail sales, manufacturing and house building beat estimates.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 1.7 per cent to 274.08 this past week, after dropping 1.7 per cent the previous week. National benchmark indexes gained in every westernEuropean market except Norway and Iceland. Germany’s DAX advanced 2 per cent, while the UK’s FTSE 100 added 1.8 per cent. France’s CAC 40 and Spain’s IBEX 35 each rallied 3.4 per cent.

European Union leaders agreed on a timetable to introduce common regulation of the euro area’s 6,000 lenders by 1 January2014. At a two-day summit, the 27 member states decided to put in place the framework for a single regulator by the end of this year. The ECB will move to oversee all the banks in the currency area in stages next year.

US stocks rose for the week as better-thanestimated economic data triggered a three-day rally. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index ended the week with a two- day slump as Google and Microsoft sank at least 1.9 per cent. Commodity and financial companies climbed the most among 10 S&P 500 groups as Citigroup Inc. posted a surprise profit and Murphy Oil Corp. said it will spin off its U.S. refined fuels business. The S&P 500 added 0.3 per cent for the week.

Asian stocks advanced, with the regional benchmark index posting its biggest weekly gain in a month, after reports on US retail sales, housing starts and manufacturing beat estimates and China’s economy showed signs of stabilization. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 2.3 per cent the most since the period ended 14th September. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average rallied 5.5 per cent this week. In China, the Shanghai Composite Index had a weekly gain of 1.1 per cent.