By Stuart Wallace Dec. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks gained around the world, with China’s benchmark index posting its biggest advance this month, on expectations the global economic recovery will strengthen. Copper rose, heading for the best year in more than two decades. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index gained 0.9 percent as of 9:49 a.m. in London, and futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index climbed 0.3 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.6 percent and the MSCI World Index of developed- nation shares added 0.3 percent. Copper increased 1.6 percent. The dollar fell against all but one of the 16 most-traded currencies tracked by Bloomberg. Chinese imports will surge as the economy grows by more than 10 percent, narrowing the nation’s trade surplus by 19 percent next year, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said. Orders for U.S. durable goods probably rose in November as improving sales prompted companies to boost stockpiles and invest, economists said before a report today, suggesting government efforts to revive growth by pumping liquidity into the economy are succeeding. “All this stimulus funding has gone into the economy and pushed the equity market higher,” Manoj Ladwa, an equity strategist at ETX Capital in London, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “We’re going to see a continuation in the first quarter of 2010.” Silicon Wafers The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 1.3 percent, its biggest gain in three weeks. Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., the world’s largest maker of silicon wafers, added 3.5 percent in Tokyo and Inotera Memories Inc. climbed to a 19-month high in Taipei. Canon Inc. increased 6.1 percent after the electronics maker kept its dividend unchanged and won European Union approval to buy Dutch office equipment maker OCE NV. Dubai’s equity index rose 1.1 percent as investors speculated an 11 percent drop this month, the biggest decline worldwide, was overdone given the emirate’s growth prospects. Most European markets were closed for the Christmas holiday. The U.K.’s benchmark FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.2 percent in London, as Fresnillo Plc, the world’s biggest primary silver producer, rallied 2.6 percent. ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, added 1.1 percent in Amsterdam. The gain in U.S. futures indicated the S&P 500 may extend yesterday’s 0.2 percent advance. A report due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington will show bookings for U.S. goods meant to last several years increased 0.5 percent after declining 0.6 percent in October, according to the median estimate of 72 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Another report may show fewer Americans applied for jobless benefits last week. Gold Streak Copper for delivery in three months rose $110 to $7,110 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange. The metal advanced 132 percent this year, the most since at least 1986. Aluminum and nickel also gained and tin rose to its highest since October 2008. Gold for immediate delivery added 1.5 percent to $1,103.90 an ounce in London. The metal is heading for a ninth consecutive annual gain, the best winning streak since at least 1948. Crude oil for January delivery was 0.5 percent higher at $77.02 a barrel in New York trading. The dollar weakened 0.4 percent against the yen and 0.2 percent compared with the euro. South Africa’s rand jumped 1.3 percent versus the dollar and 1.2 percent against the euro as precious metals, among the country’s biggest export earners, advanced. Britain’s pound snapped three days of declines against the dollar, rising 0.2 percent, while U.K. government bonds fell, driving up the yield on the benchmark 10-year note as much as 4 basis points to 4.03 percent, the highest level since June 11. The extra yield investors demand to own emerging-market debt over U.S. Treasuries dropped 4 basis points to 2.86 percentage points, the lowest level since August 2008, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s EMBI+ Index. To contact the reporter on this story: Stuart Wallace in London at swallace6@bloomberg.net

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