Nikkei 14,721.48 +69.25 +0.47%

Hang Seng 22,657.63 +156.96 +0.70%    

Shanghai Composite 2,071.47 -3.76 -0.18%   

S&P 1,873.91 +28.18 +1.53%

NASDAQ 4,351.97 +74.67 +1.75%

Dow 16,395.88 +227.85 +1.41%

FTSE 6,823.77 +115.42 +1.72%

CAC 4,395.9 +105.03 +2.45%    

DAX 9,589.15 +230.26 +2.46%

European stocks rose, rallying the most in eight months, as investors speculated that the military standoff in Ukraine will not lead to war.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 2.1 percent to 337.15 at the close of trading. The benchmark extended gains after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he sees no need to invade Ukraine and is not considering annexing its Crimea region. The gauge slumped 2.3 percent yesterday after Russia’s parliament granted Putin the authority to use force in Ukraine.

About 16,000 Russian soldiers have blocked airports and main roads on the Crimean peninsula, Yuriy A. Sergeyev, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, said yesterday in New York. Russia’s ambassador to the UN said that threats posed by extremists legitimized his country’s intervention in Crimea, where Russian speakers make up the majority. The U.S. ambassador to the UN condemned the mobilization and said “there was no evidence of threats against ethnic Russians.”

Putin ended a series of military exercises involving about 150,000 soldiers in western Russia today and ordered the troops back to base, according to a statement from the Kremlin.

National benchmark indexes advanced in every western-European market except Iceland today. France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX rallied 2.5 percent. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 increased 1.7 percent.

Glencore climbed 1.7 percent to 331.9 pence after forecasting that last year’s $29 billion takeover of Xstrata will generate savings in excess of $2.4 billion in 2014. That exceeded an estimate in September of $2 billion. Glencore also said pro-forma adjusted net income fell 23 percent to $4.58 billion, beating Citigroup Inc.’s $4.01 billion projection.

Beiersdorf advanced 2 percent to 73.52 euros after posting net income of 543 million euros in 2013, more than the average analyst estimate of 532.6 million euros. The company also said profitability will increase in 2014. Earnings before interest and tax amounted to 13.2 percent of sales last year.

Ashtead Group jumped 13 percent to 956 pence. The construction-equipment rental company also said Ebitda surged to 162.2 million pounds ($270 million) from 121 million pounds during the three months ending in January.

GAM Holding AG added 3.6 percent to 15.85 Swiss francs as the Zurich-based money manager proposed a payout of 65 centimes per share, exceeding the 60-centime projection calculated by Bloomberg. It also said that earnings per share climbed to 1.26 francs ($1.42) in 2013 from 94 centimes in 2012.

U.S. stock futures rose as comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled the Ukraine crisis won’t immediately escalate.

Global markets:

Nikkei 14,721.48 +69.25 +0.47%

Hang Seng 22,657.63 +156.96 +0.70%

Shanghai Composite 2,071.47 -3.76 -0.18%

FTSE 6,804.77 +96.42 +1.44%

CAC 4,387.26 +96.39 +2.25%

DAX 9,555.29 +196.40 +2.10%

Crude oil $103.77 (-1.10%)

Gold $1333.80 (-1.22%).

European stocks rose, rebounding from their biggest loss in more than five weeks, as investors speculated that the military standoff in Ukraine will not lead to war. U.S. index futures and Asian shares also climbed.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1.1 percent to 334.06 at 10:46 a.m. in London. The benchmark dropped 2.3 percent yesterday after Russia’s parliament granted President Vladimir Putin the authority to use force in Ukraine.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Kiev today. Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations said yesterday that threats posed by extremists legitimized his country’s intervention in Crimea, where Russian speakers make up the majority. The U.S. ambassador to the UN condemned the mobilization as a “response to an imaginary threat.”

Putin ended a series of military exercises in western Russia today and ordered the troops back to base, Interfax reported, citing presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Glencore climbed 2.6 percent to 334.6 pence after forecasting that last year’s $29 billion takeover of Xstrata will generate savings in excess of $2.4 billion in 2014. That exceeded an estimate in September of $2 billion. Glencore also said adjusted net income rose to $3.67 billion in 2013 from $3.06 billion in 2012.

Beiersdorf advanced 1.5 percent to 73.19 euros after posting net income of 543 million euros in 2013, more than the average analyst estimate of 532.6 million euros. The company also said profitability will increase in 2014. Ebit amounted to 13.2 percent of sales last year.

Ashtead Group jumped 8.2 percent to 915 pence. The construction-equipment rental company also said Ebitda surged to 162.2 million pounds ($271 million) from 121 million pounds during the three months ending in January.

GAM Holding AG added 1.6 percent to 15.55 Swiss francs as the Zurich-based money manager proposed a payout of 65 centimes per share, exceeding the 60-centime projection. It also said that earnings per share climbed to 1.26 francs ($1.43) in 2013 from 94 centimes in 2012.

FTSE 100 6,811.53 +103.18 +1.54%

CAC 40 4,390.01 +99.14 +2.31%

DAX 9,548.39 +189.50 +2.02%

Asian stocks rose, rebounding from the regional index’s first back-to-back declines in a month, as investors weighed the crisis in Crimea and ahead of the National People’s Congress annual meeting in China starting tomorrow.

Nikkei 225 14,721.48 +69.25 +0.47%

S&P/ASX 200 5,400.23 +15.91 +0.30%

Shanghai Composite 2,071.47 -3.76 -0.18%

Mitsubishi Estate Co. gained 2.2 percent in Tokyo as Japanese developers led the Topix index higher.

Tencent Holdings Ltd., Asia’s biggest Internet company, gained 2.7 percent as Hong Kong shares rebounded from their biggest drop in a month.

AGL Energy Ltd. sank 2.5 percent in Sydney after its A$1.51 billion ($1.35 billion) deal to buy power plants in Australia’s most-populous state was blocked by an antitrust regulator.