By Justin Carrigan Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks rose around the world and the yen weakened as investor confidence in the economic recovery grew amid speculation that central banks will keep interest rates at record lows. The MSCI World Index of 23 developed nations’ stocks advanced 0.4 percent at 10:40 a.m. in London. Emerging-market stocks gained for the first time in three days, led by a 1.4 percent rally in China’s Shanghai Composite Index. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed. The yen fell against all 16 of its most-traded peers. Corn slid 1.2 percent, extending its three-day decline to 10 percent. The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index, released yesterday, rose to the highest level since the series began two years ago. The European Central Bank will leave its main interest rate at 1 percent today, according to all 51 economists in a Bloomberg survey. New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley said yesterday U.S. rates may remain “low” for at least six months and possibly two years. “We’re really only in the early stages of the economic recovery,” Gabriel Wallach, who oversees $2.5 billion as head of global emerging market equities at Fortis Investments, said in an interview in Singapore. “Valuations are not stretched. There are companies that are still attractive.” European Gains Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index advanced 0.7 percent, led by gains in basic-resources shares. Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-largest mining company, climbed 3.1 percent in London after saying iron ore output increased 49 percent in the fourth quarter. ArcelorMittal advanced 2.1 percent in Amsterdam after Exane BNP Paribas upgraded the world’s biggest steelmaker. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 1 percent. Mizuho Financial Group Inc. gained 5.7 percent in Tokyo amid speculation the company will raise capital through a rights offering. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.35 percent, leading a 0.5 percent increase in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Russia’s Micex Index gained 1.2 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.1 percent, indicating the benchmark gauge for U.S. equities may extend yesterday’s 0.8 percent advance. Sales at U.S. retailers probably rose 0.5 percent in December, gaining for a third month, as consumers took advantage of holiday discounts, economists said before a Commerce Department report due at 8:30 a.m. in Washington today. Initial jobless applications climbed to 437,000 in the week ended Jan. 9, from 434,000 the prior week, economists forecast. Confidence Increases The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index advanced to 66.6 this month from 58.9 in December, reaching the highest level since the series began two years ago. The index exceeded 50 for a sixth month, which means there were more optimists than pessimists. Treasuries advanced, with the yield on the 10-year note falling 2 basis points to 3.77 percent. The government will sell $13 billion of 30-year bonds today, part of the $84 billion issued this week. “Short-term rates are going to stay low for a considerable period of time to come,” the Fed’s Dudley said yesterday, according to the transcript of an interview with PBS Television’s Nightly Business Report. The Fed has held the benchmark rate for overnight loans between banks close to zero for more than a year to pull the economy from the worst recession since World War II. ECB Decision The euro rose against yen and was little changed against the dollar before the ECB decision. The bank will keep its benchmark interest rate close to a record low until the end of this year as inflation stays below its limit amid a sluggish economic recovery, according to a survey of economists. The yen fell the most against Australia’s dollar, dropping 1.2 percent, after the statistics bureau in Sydney said the number of people employed rose 35,200 in December from the previous month, more than three times the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Corn fell 4.5 cents to $3.795 a bushel in Chicago trading. The U.S. reported Jan. 12 a record crop. Wheat and soybeans also dropped. Oil climbed above $80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, snapping three days of declines. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its 12-month forecast for commodity returns following a jump in prices.

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