European Stocks Rise, Snapping Four-Day Drop

European Stocks Rise, Snapping Four-Day Drop
By Sarah Jones - Apr 18, 2013 3:07 PM GMT+0800

European (SXXP) stocks rose, rebounding from the biggest four-day selloff since July, as companies from SABMiller Plc to Syngenta AG and Nestle SA (NESN) reported results. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares fell.
SABMiller advanced after the world’s second-largest brewer posted sales that topped forecasts. Nestle fell 1.6 percent after the largest food company reported its slowest first- quarter sales growth since 2009.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed 0.2 percent to 284.22 at 8:05 a.m. in London, rebounding from the lowest level since Dec. 31. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures rose less than 0.1 percent today, after the U.S. equities gauge yesterday dropped 1.4 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.1 percent.
“We have had mixed numbers, so we are probably going to be taking a lead from the macro picture,” Matt Basi, head of U.K. sales trading at CMC Markets, told Mark Barton on Bloomberg Television in London. “A pretty mixed picture but a slightly more positive tone for the morning.”
European stocks fell yesterday, sending the Stoxx 600 down 1.5 percent, led by a drop in commodity producers and automakers. U.S. stocks also declined as earnings from Bank of America Corp. to Textron Inc. missed estimates.

Company Earnings
Some 29 companies on the S&P 500 Index including Morgan Stanley, Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. will report results today. In Europe, seven companies on the Stoxx 600 are due to post earnings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
SABMiller gained 0.6 percent to 3,362.5 pence after the so- called organic lager volume climbed 4 percent in the fourth quarter as gains in Africa, Asia and Europe offset a decline in Latin America. That compared with the median analyst forecast of 2.5 percent. Growth for the full year was 3 percent.
Rival Diageo Plc (DGE) fell 1.6 percent to 1,942.5 pence after the world’s biggest distiller reported third-quarter sales that missed predictions as volumes dropped amid sluggish European demand. Organic sales increased 4 percent compared with the median estimate of 10 analysts for a 5 percent increase. Sales in the first nine months of the fiscal year rose 5 percent on the same basis.
Carrefour SA (CA) added 0.6 percent to 20.74 euros after France’s biggest retailer reported first-quarter revenue of 20.8 billion euros ($27.13 billion), in line with analyst estimates.
Nestle dropped 1.6 percent to 63.30 francs after reporting a 4.3 percent increase in first-quarter sales, excluding acquisitions, divestments and currency swings. That fell short of the 4.7 percent average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Higher prices contributed 2 percent to sales growth, more than analysts’ estimates of 1.2 percent.
Sodexo slumped 7.4 percent to 65.56 euros after the second- biggest provider of catering cut its annual profit-growth forecast after first-half results missed analysts’ projections. Sodexo said it anticipated “stable” earnings before interest and taxes compared with last year, after saying in January it expected “modest” profit growth.
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