European stocks rose, heading for their first weekly rally of the year, as investors awaited data that may show American jobs made the biggest annual gain since 2005. U.S. stock futures and Asian shares were little changed.
Swatch Group AG added 3.7 percent after disclosing a positive outlook for 2014. Metro AG gained 3.3 percent after a report its biggest shareholder may push for replacing its chief executive officer and selling some units. Norsk Hydro ASA fell after U.S. peer Alcoa Inc. posted earnings below estimates.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.5 percent to 329.92 at 8:11 a.m. in London. The benchmark gauge has risen 0.7 percent this week as reports on German unemployment U.S. private jobs beat economists’ projections. It jumped 17 percent in 2013. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.2 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased less than 0.1 percent.
Bloomberg
