European Stocks Rise; Swiss Re, Vestas, Commerzbank, BHP Gain

Stocks rebounded in Europe, led by mining and engineering companies, as investors focused on the prospects for earnings.

Swiss Reinsurance Co., the world's biggest reinsurer, and Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the largest maker of wind turbines, climbed after reporting profit that exceeded analysts' estimates. Commerzbank AG rallied after the German bank said earnings rose by more than half in the third quarter. BHP Billiton Ltd. led mining shares higher as copper and gold prices increased.

``Sentiment for stocks got a boost from better-than-expected earnings,'' said Philipp Musil, who helps oversee $24 billion at Vienna-based Constantia Privatbank AG. ``Profits are still rising and economic growth remains intact.''

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added 0.6 percent to 379.44 as of 1:15 p.m. in London. The measure dropped 2.9 percent in the previous three days on concern that more banks may follow Citigroup and Merrill Lynch & Co. in increasing their estimates of losses related to subprime mortgages.

European government bonds fell, snapping three days of gains. The dollar slumped to a record low of $1.4531 per euro on speculation finance industry losses will spur the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates for a third time this year.

The risk of European companies defaulting on their debt declined, according to traders of credit-default swaps.

Regional benchmarks advanced in all of the 18 western European markets except Iceland and Ireland. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.4 percent. France's CAC 40 added 0.3 percent and Germany's DAX increased 0.5 percent. The Stoxx 50 rose 0.5 percent, as did the Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the euro region.

Beating Estimates

Swiss Re gained 2.2 percent to 104 francs. Third-quarter profit fell 5 percent to 1.47 billion Swiss francs ($1.28 billion). That beat the 1.13 billion-franc median estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Vestas Wind jumped 9.6 percent to 489 kroner, the sharpest gain since Feb. 9. Third-quarter profit more than tripled to 66 million euros ($96 million) after demand for its products climbed. Analysts in a Bloomberg survey had estimated profit of 60 million euros.

Gamesa Corp. Tecnologica SA, Spain's largest maker of wind- energy turbines, added 3.3 percent to 36 euros.

Commerzbank climbed 2.6 percent to 27.90 euros. Germany's second-biggest lender said third-quarter profit rose 56 percent on tax gains and named board member Martin Blessing to succeed Klaus-Peter Mueller as chief executive officer.

BHP Billiton gained 3.4 percent to 1,758 pence. Anglo American Plc, the world's second-biggest mining company, advanced 2.7 percent to 3,135 pence. Rio Tinto Group, the third-largest, jumped 3.2 percent to 4,333 pence.
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