European stocks climbed, extending the Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s biggest two-day advance in a month, as mining shares rallied in London. Asian stocks and U.S. futures also rose. Antofagasta Plc and Xstrata Plc led a gauge of basic resource companies to a 2 1/2 year high as copper jumped to a record. BP Plc surged 5.7 percent after lawyer Kenneth Feinberg said half of the $20 billion Gulf of Mexico oil spill fund should cover claims. Carrefour SA gained 2.5 percent as BofA- Merrill Lynch Global Research recommended the retailer. The benchmark Stoxx 600 rose 1.2 percent to 281.32 at 12:30 p.m. in London, extending yesterday’s biggest gain since Dec. 21 as economic data heightened speculation that last year’s rally in equities will continue in 2011. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index jumped 2.5 percent to 6,044.33 after the market was closed for the New Year holiday yesterday. “I am still optimistic,” said London-based Andrew Popper, chief investment officer at SG Hambros Bank Ltd. in a Bloomberg Television Interview. “The move towards riskier assets should continue. We are looking at equities as presenting a positive outlook and other asset markets as well, especially commodities.” U.S. stocks extended the global rally yesterday, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index up the most in a month, boosted by analyst ratings upgrades and a manufacturing report. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.3 percent today. Asian stocks followed the advance, extending a 2 1/2-year high for the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Antofagasta, Xstrata Antofagasta Plc, owner of copper mines in Chile, rose 2.9 percent to 1,659 pence. Xstrata, the world’s fourth-largest copper producer, gained 3.7 percent to 1,561 pence and Kazakhmys Plc increased 3.7 percent to 1,673 pence. The Stoxx 600 Basic Resource Index climbed 2.3 percent to the highest level since July 2008 as copper rallied as much as 1.3 percent to $9,728 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, catching up with yesterday’s rise to an all-time high in New York. BP jumped 5.7 percent to 492.1 pence after Feinberg, the lawyer paying victims of BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, said $10 billion may be enough to cover claims for economic losses. Feinberg said on Bloomberg Television on Dec. 31 that it is too early to project how much of the fund will be needed to pay individuals and businesses. Separately, the Daily Mail newspaper reported Royal Dutch Shell Plc had considered a takeover bid during the crisis. Mark Salt, a spokesman for BP in London, declined to comment on the report. Shell’s press department wasn’t immediately available for comment when contacted by phone. Shell shares gained 1.6 percent to 2,173.5 pence as crude oil trades near a 27-month high. Carrefour, Carnival Carrefour rose 2.5 percent to 32.84 euros in Paris after BofA Merrill Lynch raised its recommendation for the world’s second-largest retailer to “buy” from “neutral” as analysts said the stock was oversold. Carnival Plc gained 3.9 percent to 3,097 pence after Deutsche Bank AG raised its recommendation for the world’s biggest cruise-line operator to “buy” from “hold,” saying the company’s final earnings results indicated a “healthy outlook” for 2011. Cairn Energy Plc increased 3.4 percent to 434.2 pence after the company hired two rigs for oil exploration off Greenland and won a $900 million credit line, ensuring that drilling plans for 2011 are on track. Piraeus Bank The Edinburgh-based company rented the Leiv Eiriksson and Ocean Rig Corcovado, both operated by Ocean Rig, to drill four wells. The debt facility was provided by Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of Scotland Plc, Credit Agricole SA, HSBC Holdings Plc and Societe Generale SA. Piraeus Bank SA slumped 16 percent to 3 euros, the worst performer on the Stoxx 600, after Greece’s fourth-biggest lender set the price of shares on sale in its 807 million-euro ($1.08 billion) rights offering at 1 euro apiece. That is 43 percent less than the theoretical value of the shares excluding the rights as of yesterday’s close. Ericsson AB dropped 2.2 percent to 77.25 euros after Credit Suisse Group AG downgraded the world’s biggest maker of mobile- phone networks to “neutral” saying the shares offer “less compelling upside.” To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Merritt at dmerritt1@bloomberg.net.

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