EUROPEAN stocks rose

European stocks advanced for a second day as China’s cash crunch eased and German consumer confidence climbed.

Colruyt SA jumped the most in almost a year after reporting earnings that beat estimates.

Direct Line Insurance Group Plc, the U.K.’s biggest home and motor insurer, rallied 5.2% after saying it will cut jobs.

GSW Immobilien AG, Berlin’s largest residential landlord by market value, advanced 4.3% after saying both its chairman and chief executive officer will leave.

Mining companies declined as metals fell.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1.6% to 284.26, on course for the biggest two-day jump since April. 

The gauge has still slumped 8.5% since May 22, when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke commented on the possibility of tapering. The measure has dropped 5.5% this month and 3.2% this quarter, trimming its 2013 advance to 1.6%.

Experts said the first leg of the correction is close to over and the markets should be more stable going into month end. The Chinese central bank’s liquidity pledge has calmed markets in the short term, but the picture is not that clear in the medium term.

The volume of shares changing hands in Stoxx 600 companies was 9.2% greater than the 30-day average, according to Bloomberg.    

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