Europe Index Futures Rise After Equities Post Second Weekly Gain

European stock-index futures rose after equities climbed for a second, shortened week.

Contracts on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index advanced 0.3 percent to 3,199 at 7:05 a.m. in London today. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 1.1 percent in the three trading days ended Dec. 24 after jumping 3 percent the week before. European markets were closed on Dec. 25 and Dec. 26 for the Christmas holiday and Boxing Day.

The Stoxx 600 has rallied 6.4 percent from its low on Oct. 15 as energy shares rebounded from a slump, the Federal Reserve said it will be patient in the timing of interest-rate increases and the U.S. economy expanded more than forecast. The gauge last closed 2 percent below an almost seven-year high reached Dec. 5. It’s down 1 percent for December, trimming its annual advance to 4.8 percent.

Investors will be watching Greece, where Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is making a third and final attempt to get his presidential candidate confirmed. Failing could usher in Syriza, an anti-austerity party that seeks to renegotiate the nation’s debt, threatening the stability of Europe’s currency union and the start of the European Central Bank’s bond-buying program.

Short bets on an exchange-traded fund tracking Greek shares climbed this month to the highest level since May 2012, just before the benchmark ASE Index fell to a low in the wake of the nation’s debt restructuring.

Source: Bloomberg