European stocks continue to climb

European stocks rose for a sixth day, their longest winning streak this year, as companies from ING to Societe Generale posted profit that beat estimates, and a report showed Chinese exports surged last month.

US index futures and Asian shares also advanced. ING and Societe Generale each gained at least 3 per cent.

Heineken climbed 3.4 per cent after saying it expects sales to increase in 2014. Wm Morrison Supermarkets added 3.2 per cent after people familiar with the matter said its founding family has held talks with private-equity funds.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.3 per cent to 330.57 at 8.54am in London.

In China, the General Administration of Customs said exports jumped 10.6 per cent in January from a year earlier.

Imports rose 10 per cent, exceeding the 4 per cent advance that economists had predicted.

In the UK, the Bank of England publishes its quarterly economic outlook, with new forecasts for growth and inflation, at 10.30am in London.

Data last month showed the UK's jobless rate slid to 7.1 per cent in the three months through November, nearing the 7 per cent threshold at which Governor Mark Carney has said policy makers will consider increasing interest rates. ING gained 3.1 per cent to €10.48.

Societe Generale added 3 per cent to €45.59. France’s second-largest bank posted fourth-quarter net income of €322 million as earnings climbed at its French and Russian consumer-lending units.

Bloomberg