By Stuart Wallace Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks and U.S. index futures rose, rebounding from the worst week in 11 months, as European finance ministers expressed confidence in Greece’s plans to cut Europe’s biggest deficit. Commodities and currencies of raw-material producers gained. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index added 0.2 percent at 10:12 a.m. in London. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index also advanced 0.2 percent. Oil rose 0.9 percent and copper climbed 1.5 percent. South Africa’s rand appreciated against 15 of its 16 most-traded peers. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said at a Group of Seven meeting that Greece’s budget deficit will be “managed,” and ministers pledged to pursue measures to keep economies growing without adding to record debt. Mohamed A. El- Erian, co-chief investment officer at Pacific Investment Management Co., said he favors investments in emerging markets on the view they’ll outpace developed economies. “The fiscal problem can be contained so long as governments start paring back some of this excessive expenditure later this year,” Arjuna Mahendran, an investment strategist at HSBC Private Bank in Singapore, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “The economic recovery is pretty much on track, in fact it’s exceeding expectations.” Asian Retreat The MSCI World Index of 23 developed nations’ stocks was little changed. Stocks in Asia declined for a third day, dragging the MSCI Asia Pacific index 10 percent below its January peak. Panasonic Corp., the world’s largest maker of plasma televisions, fell 5.3 percent in Tokyo after posting a loss. Casio Computer Co. also sank 5.3 percent after the electronics maker increased its full-year loss forecast. The gain in U.S. futures indicated the S&P 500 may rebound after posting its fourth weekly decline, the longest losing streak since July. CIT Group Inc., the commercial lender that emerged from bankruptcy in December, rose 3 percent in German trading after naming John Thain, the ousted chief of Merrill Lynch & Co., as chairman and chief executive officer. Basic-resources shares led gains in Europe. Xstrata Plc, the world’s largest exporter of coal used for power, rose 5.2 percent in London after reporting earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. Randgold Resources Ltd., a developer of mines in west and central Africa, surged 7.3 percent, the most in four months, after saying fourth-quarter profit tripled. Copper Gains Copper for delivery in three months rose as much as 3.1 percent to $6,475 a metric ton in London, rebounding from a four-week slump. Aluminum, nickel and zinc also gained. Crude oil added 1.3 percent to $72.11 a barrel in New York. Gold advanced 0.6 percent to $1,072.73 an ounce. March wheat rallied 1.6 percent to $4.8075 a bushel in Chicago trading. The rand strengthened 1 percent versus the yen, 0.9 percent against the dollar and 0.6 percent compared with the euro. The common currency snapped three days of declines against the dollar, gaining 0.2 percent. The pound declined versus all 16 of its most-traded counterparts as opinion polls suggested a growing chance no party will win a majority in elections that must be held by June. Greece is trying to persuade investors it can restrain the budget shortfall without outside assistance, while borrowing costs are also climbing for Portugal and Spain. Credit-default swaps on the debt of all three countries rose to records last week, increasing demand for the relative safety of U.S. government securities. Default Swaps The cost of five-year default insurance on Greece’s government bonds fell from a record, with credit-default swaps linked to the nation declining 9.5 basis points to 398, according to CMA DataVision. Contracts on Portugal’s debt climbed 6.5 basis points to an all-time high of 233.5, CMA prices show, signaling a deterioration in investor perceptions of credit quality. Credit- default swaps on company debt fell, with the investment-grade Markit iTraxx Europe Index dropping to 90.25 from 92.25, the highest level since October, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Eastern European stocks climbed, led by a 3 percent surge in Lithuania’s OMX Vilnius Index. Estonia’s OMX Tallin Index and Hungary’s BUX Index rose more than 2 percent. Declines in Asia pulled the MSCI Emerging-Markets Index down 0.2 percent, extending the biggest three-day slump in 11 months to 5.9 percent. Ukraine’s bonds dropped to the lowest in a month, raising the yield to 11.1 percent from 10.5 percent, after opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych said he won yesterday’s election while his rival, Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko, said the vote was too close to call. The hryvnia weakened 0.4 percent. To contact the reporters for this story: Stuart Wallace in London at swallace6@bloomberg.net

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