EUROPEAN stocks rose

European stocks advanced as investors analysed corporate earnings results and the Federal Reserve began a two-day policy meeting.

 

EDF rose 7.7%, the highest price in 20 months, as the company reported a 3.5% increase in first-half profit on cold weather.

 

Alcatel-Lucent rallied 7.6%, the highest since April 2012, after reporting second-quarter sales and earnings that surpassed analysts’ estimates and saying Qualcomm Inc. agreed to buy a minority stake.

 

Deutsche Bank AG slid 3.6% after continental Europe’s biggest bank said second-quarter profit fell 49 percent.

 

Barclays Plc sank the most in a year after announcing a rights offering and saying income fell.

 

K+S AG, Europe’s largest potash producer, plunged 21% as OAO Uralkali predicted prices for the fertilizer ingredient will fall.

 

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped less than 0.1%. The gauge has rallied 4.9% in July, on course for the biggest monthly gain since October 2011.

 

Oil and gas companies posted the biggest decline out of 19 industry groups in the Stoxx 600. Banks posted the second-largest losses, falling 0.5%.

 

“One of the underlying messages of this earnings season is that Europe is no longer the big source of disappointment,” experts of BNP Paribas, said. “If you dig down below the headlines, it looks like European revenues are no longer as disappointing.”

 

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