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Bloomberg

European stocks rose for a second day and the euro strengthened after German investor confidence rebounded. The yen weakened after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered ministers to start preparing economic stimulus, while the pound gained and gold rose.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.6 percent by 10:05 a.m. in London. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures was little changed after the gauge closed at a record. The euro strengthened 0.6 percent to $1.2520 while the yen declined against all but one of its 16 major peers. The pound climbed 0.1 percent to $1.5661 after inflation unexpectedly quickened last month. Chinese shares declined after home prices fell last month. Gold advanced 1 percent to a two-week high.

Investor confidence in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, rose for the first time in 11 months, according to the ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim. Abe’s call for stimulus measures came after broadcaster NHK reported he told the leadership of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party that he’ll dissolve the country’s parliament to call an election and delay an increase in the nation’s sales tax for 18 months.

“The market is being pushed to levels that can only be justified by continual low interest rates,” said Lex Van Dam, a fund manager at Hampstead Capital LLP in London. “If central banks keep printing money then yes, that will be very good for equities.”

Health-care and chemicals companies advanced the most among 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 6O0. The volume of Stoxx 600 shares changing hands today was 7.9 percent lower than the 30- day average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Balfour Rises

Balfour Beatty Plc rose 5.1 percent after the British builder said its construction-services order book increased in the third quarter. Altice SA retreated 3.9 percent as Carlyle Group LP and Cinven Group Ltd. are selling a stake valued at as much as 341.3 million euros ($426 million) in the cable company.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in December were little changed. The index has climbed 9.6 percent from last month’s low.

Home Depot Inc., Medtronic Inc. and TJX Cos. are among companies reporting earnings today. About 79 percent of the S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings this season have beaten analyst estimates for profit, while 59 percent exceeded sales projections, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland shares traded in Hong Kong sank 1.3 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.7 percent.

Prices Fall

Prices dropped in 69 of 70 cities in October from September, the National Bureau of Statistics said today. That’s the same as in September, which was the most since January 2011 when the government changed the way it compiles the data.

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. dropped 2.4 percent after sliding 4.5 percent yesterday as mainland investors failed to use up their quota for buying Hong Kong shares. About 60 percent of the daily allowance for purchases of Shanghai shares from Hong Kong remained unused today after being exhausted yesterday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 2.2 percent. The gauge sank 3 percent yesterday, its biggest one-day slump since August, after data showed gross domestic product unexpectedly dropped an annualized 1.6 percent last quarter, after a 7.3 percent contraction in the preceding three months. An index of volatility in the Nikkei 225 fell 3.2 percent today.

Gold advanced as a weakening dollar spurred demand for a haven asset. Bullion for immediate delivery gained 0.9 percent to $1,197.40 an ounce, the highest price since Oct. 31. Silver climbed 1.2 percent to $16.34 an ounce.

Brent crude rose 0.3 percent to $79.56 a barrel in London, while West Texas Intermediate gained 0.7 percent to $76.19. A large production cut at the meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna on Nov. 27 wouldn’t be in the group’s interest because higher prices would bolster the growth of U.S. shale oil, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.