By Nicolas Johnson and Kana Nishizawa Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose to a 14-month high and Asian shares advanced after China said its economy grew faster than estimated so far this year. Emerging-market currencies strengthened and U.S. Treasuries fell. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added 0.4 percent to 252.90 as of 11:08 a.m. in Paris. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.7 percent to 120.41, the highest level since Dec. 8. U.S. futures rose. The won advanced against 14 of the most- traded currencies tracked by Bloomberg. Treasuries dropped ahead of this week’s $118 billion auction of government debt. China’s economy, which is leading the world out of the first global recession since World War II, grew faster than previously estimated, the government said. The U.S. will turn in its best performance since 2004 next year as spending picks up and companies increase investment, said Dean Maki, the most-accurate forecaster in a Bloomberg News survey. “The global economy is just about bottoming out,” said Masaru Hamasaki, chief strategist at Tokyo-based Toyota Asset Management Co., which oversees the equivalent of $14 billion. “I don’t expect huge economic growth, but I do see things recovering.” ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, and Outokumpu Oyj led European basic-resources companies higher as metal prices rose in Asia. Seadrill Ltd., the drilling company founded by billionaire John Fredriksen, and Saipem SpA gained with crude oil prices. China, Japan The Shanghai Composite Index and Nikkei 225 Stock Average led the gains in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.2 percent, reversing gains of as much as 1 percent, after property auctions raised less money than the lowest analyst estimates. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures, which were closed for trading on Dec. 25, rose 0.1 percent. The Shanghai Composite advanced 1.5 percent to the highest since Dec. 16, led by consumer stocks on the growth outlook and as the government increased price caps for rural purchases of home appliances. GD Midea Holding Co., China’s second-biggest publicly traded appliance maker, climbed to a 19-month high. The Nikkei 225 added 1.3 percent after Japan reported today that industrial production improved for a ninth month in November. JFE Holdings Inc. and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. led gains. Doosan Corp., Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. and Korea Electric Power Corp. surged more than 4 percent after they won a $20 billion United Arab Emirates nuclear-power-plant contract. Korea’s Kospi Index climbed 0.2 percent. Korean Won The won rose 0.4 to 1,170.15, near the strongest in more than a week. East Asian economies will grow faster than initially estimated this year, the World Bank said last month. Developing East Asia, which excludes Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and the Indian subcontinent, will expand 6.7 percent this year, more than an April estimate of 5.3 percent, it said, adding that growth may accelerate to 7.8 percent next year. The U.S. economy will expand 3.5 percent in 2010, according to Maki, the chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital Inc. in New York. The rebound in stocks and rising incomes will prompt Americans to boost consumption, said Maki, a former economist at the Federal Reserve. Companies will become confident the expansion will be sustained as inventories dwindle and demand increases, he said. Stronger Dollar The dollar strengthened for the first time in four days against the euro and yen before reports tomorrow forecast to show improving U.S. property values and consumer confidence. The dollar rose to $1.4394 per euro in Tokyo from $1.4411 in New York on Dec. 25, and advanced to 91.48 yen from 91.30 yen against the Japanese currency. Treasuries declined, pushing 10-year yields to a four-month high of 3.84 percent as investors bet the U.S. recovery will fuel inflation and reduce demand for debt at auctions this week. The gap between yields on 2-year and 10-year Treasuries reached 285 basis points, or 2.85 percentage points, near the highest on record. The government sells $44 billion of two-year notes today. Copper Copper futures in Shanghai climbed as much as 1.6 percent to 58,770 yuan ($8,608) a ton, the highest level since September 2008, after workers at Codelco’s Chuquicamata copper mine in Chile rejected the company’s latest wage offer. Prices also increased after stockpiles in China, the world’s largest consumer of the metal, dropped for the second time in three weeks last week, according to data from the Shanghai Futures Exchange. Platinum for immediate delivery rose as much as 1.8 percent to the highest since Dec. 4, and gold advanced 0.5 percent to $1,110.78 an ounce on speculation that some investors are increasing their holdings after the metal fell for a fourth week, the longest losing streak since April. Crude oil traded above $78 a barrel in New York after rising to a three-week high on signs that the U.S. economy is recovering. Corn climbed for a third day, rising as much as 1 percent to $4.125 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, on speculation that snow and ice may damage late-harvested U.S. crops. To contact the reporters for this story: Nicolas Johnson in Tokyo at nicojohnson@bloomberg.net; Kana Nishizawa in Tokyo at knishizawa5@bloomberg.net.

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