European Mining Stocks May Rise on Gold, China Growth Forecast

European Mining Stocks May Rise on Gold, China Growth Forecast

European mining stocks may rise after gold prices gained and China said economic growth will accelerate this year. Rio Tinto Group and Anglo American Plc might lead the advance.

“Metal prices have moved significantly higher which should help the mining companies,” said Simon Denham, a director at London Capital Group. “We see Rio and Anglo opening a little higher because gold has held above $600” an ounce.

Antofagasta Plc may gain after Deutsche Bank AG recommended investors buy shares of the copper mining company. Havas SA, the world’s sixth-largest advertising company, might decline after reporting a drop in first-half earnings.

Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50, a benchmark for the 12 countries using the euro, rose 3 to 3912 at 7:42 a.m. in London. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index may add 4, according to CMC Markets, a betting firm.

U.S. stocks rallied for a fourth day yesterday as falling oil and slowing economic growth signaled the Federal Reserve won’t raise interest rates this year. Reports today on consumer spending and inflation may provide investors with further evidence of the health of the world’s biggest economy.

Gold headed for its second weekly gain in Asia after Indian jewelers bought in preparation for the coming holiday season. Gold for immediate delivery rose as much as 0.4 percent to $603.80. The precious metal rose 1.8 percent last week.

The central bank in China, the world’s biggest consumer of metals, forecast economic growth will accelerate to 10.5 percent this year and inflation will slow to 1.5 percent, according to a report published in the China Securities Journal today.

Rio Tinto, BHP

Anglo American, the world’s second-largest mining company, may rise. Rio Tinto, the world’s No. 3, advanced 1.5 percent in Australian trading. BHP, the world’s largest mining company, climbed 1.4 percent in Sydney.

Antofagasta may climb after Deutsche Bank upgraded its stock recommendation for the company, whose shares have doubled in two years, to “buy” from “hold” and raised its price estimate by 9.9 percent to 500 pence.

Man Group Plc, the world’s largest publicly traded hedge fund manager, may advance after the company said it will report six-month profit that exceeds analyst estimates as management fees rose 35 percent and profit from brokerage operations increased 40 percent.

Havas may be active after the company said first-half profit fell 39 percent to 21 million euros ($27 million) as the company recorded costs to recruit “new talents.”

Standard Chartered Plc, which makes two-thirds of its profit in Asia, has agreed to buy Hsinchu International Bank in Taiwan in a deal valued at $1.2 billion. Shares of Standard Chartered were suspended in Hong Kong.

Water Supplier

AWG Plc may open higher after the water supplier to six million customers in England said its Anglian Water unit performed “materially” above the company’s expectations in the first half as a hotter-than-normal summer spurred demand.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average in the U.S. climbed as high as 11,728.46 yesterday before retreating in the final minutes of trading, surpassing by almost 6 points its Jan. 14, 2000, record. It closed up 0.3 percent to 11,718.45.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.2 percent to 1339.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.3 percent to 2270.02.

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