European Stocks Climb as Investors Weigh Fed, Data.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-21/european-stock-index-futures-rise-as-investors-weigh-fed.html

European stocks advanced as bets the Federal Reserve will continue to support the economy outweighed a slowdown in manufacturing growth in Chinaand the euro area. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares fell.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG rallied to a two-week high after posting second-quarter net income that exceeded analysts’ projections. Polymetal International Plc gained 2.5 percent after Bank of America Corp. advised investors to buy the stock. Nobel Biocare Holding AG rose 3.9 percent after raising its 2014 profit-margin forecast. Royal Ahold (AH) NV lost 2.6 percent after reporting second-quarter earnings that missed estimates.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.3 percent to 336.34 at 9:09 a.m. in London. The benchmark measure has dropped 3.8 percent from a six-year high reached June 10 as conflicts escalated in Iraq and Ukraine. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 0.1 percent today, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.2 percent.

Fed minutes from its July meeting showed officials raised the possibility that stimulus might end sooner than anticipated even as they acknowledged persistent slack in the labor market. The Fed is on pace to wind down its bond purchases in October, and intends to keep the benchmark interest rate low for a “considerable time” after that. The S&P 500 posted a third day of gains yesterday after the release of the minutes as investors bet that Fed stimulus will continue amid uneven gains in the labor market.

China Manufacturing

A report from China today showed a manufacturing gauge fell in August by more than analysts estimated. The preliminary purchasing managers’ index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics slid to 50.3, trailing all 22 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey that had a median projection of 51.5. The measure dropped from July’s final reading of 51.7 and, if confirmed on Sept. 1, will be a three-month low. Numbers above 50 indicate expansion.

Euro-area manufacturing and services activity slowed in August, another release showed. A PMI for both industries fell to 52.8 this month from 53.8 in July, Markit Economics said. Economists predicted a decline to 53.4, according to the median of 20 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.