Eurostoxx 50: 3,003.19 (+7.70) Frankfurt DAX: 7,191.91 (–1.77) Paris CAC: 4,037.82 (+1.24): EUROPEAN STOCKS gained as data showed the jobless rate in the US unexpectedly dropped last month even as payrolls were depressed by winter storms.

“The drop in the unemployment rate was clearly a massive change and has to be welcomed,” said Philippe Gijsels, the Brussels-based head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets. “Still, the job market remains fairly weak and this remains the focal point for the Federal Reserve, for them to continue on the path of quantitative easing.”

National benchmark indexes rose in 13 of the 18 western European markets.

YIT rallied 10 per cent to €19.63 as Finland’s biggest builder reported fourth-quarter net income of €81.5 million, beating the €60.4 million mean estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Morrison Enel, Italy’s biggest energy company, said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization increased to €17.5 billion ($23.9 billion) from €16.4 billion a year earlier.

Taylor Wimpey, a UK homebuilder, advanced 6.9 per cent to 37.41p. UK house prices unexpectedly rose in January as fewer homeowners put their properties up for sale, squeezing supply, according to a report from Halifax.

Munich Re advanced 2.7 per cent to €120.20. The shares were raised to “overweight” at JPMorgan.

Barclays, the UK’s third biggest bank, climbed 2.4 per cent to 308.1p.

Teleperformance rose 6.4 per cent to €28 as the customer-services provider said fourth-quarter revenue rose to €588.1 million from €475.5 million a year earlier.

Grifols advanced 5 per cent to €11.89 as Europe’s largest maker of blood-plasma products agreed with US regulators to extend the deadline for antitrust approval of the $3.6 billion purchase of Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings until March 6th.

LVMH, the world’s largest maker of luxury goods, slid 2.4 per cent to €114.05 after 2010 operating profit failed to beat analysts estimates. Yara International sank 2.4 per cent to 328 kronor as it forecast earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of about 3 billion kroner ($523 million) for the fourth quarter. – (Bloomberg)