European stocks rose for a third day, extending the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index's biggest quarterly rally this decade. US index futures and Asian shares also posted gains.
Infineon Technologies climbed 6.5 per cent after Micron Technology, the biggest US producer of computer-memory chips, reported a smaller-than-estimated loss. Man Group, the largest publicly traded hedge-fund manager, soared 6.2 per cent after reporting an increase in assets under management.
The Stoxx 600 rose 0.5 per cent to 244.7 as of 8.28am in London, extending the advance since the end of June to 19 percent. The quarterly increase is the biggest since 1999, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index's 15 per cent surge is the steepest since 1998.
The gains have sent price-earnings valuations on the indexes this month to the highest levels since 2003 and 2004, respectively.
Futures on the S&P 500 added 0.3 per cent before data on gross domestic product, employment and business activity that may show the worst US recession since the Great Depression eased and the economy is probably now in the early stages of recovery.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.8 percent today, led by automakers and technology companies.
Bloomberg