European stocks declined from a seven-week high as a measure of U.S. manufacturing unexpectedly slumped, outweighing gains by companies from Royal KPN NV to Vivendi SA on plans to sell assets.

In the U.S., a measure of manufacturing in the region covered by the Federal Bank of Richmond unexpectedly slumped to minus 11 in July from a revised plus 7 the previous month. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg had called for a reading of plus 9.

National benchmark indexes rose in 10 of the 18 western-European markets today. France’s CAC 40 and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.4 percent, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.2 percent.

KPN added 2.8 percent to 1.85 euros after the Dutch company agreed to sell its E-Plus mobile-phone business for 5 billion euros ($6.6 billion) to Telefonica’s German unit. KPN will take a 17 percent stake in Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG, which is controlled by Spain’s largest carrier, Telefonica. The shares rallied 13 percent yesterday when KPN confirmed it had held talks about selling the business.

Separately, KPN posted a second-quarter profit of 107 million euros, missing the average analyst estimate of 145 million euros. Telefonica gained 2.3 percent to 10.29 euros, while Telefonica Deutschland slipped 5.3 percent to 5.39 euros.

Vivendi advanced 2.4 percent to 16.08 euros. The media and telecommunications conglomerate said it has entered exclusive talks with Etisalat to sell a 53 percent stake in the Moroccan phone company for 4.2 billion euros.

Swatch Group AG advanced 1.7 percent to 538.50 Swiss francs. The biggest maker of Swiss watches said it expects a strong second half after first-half profit rose. Net income increased 6.1 percent to 768 million Swiss francs, the Biel, Switzerland-based company said in a statement.

U.S. stock-index futures rose as earnings from companies including DuPont Co. and Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) topped analysts’ estimates.

DuPont gained more than 4% after saying it will explore options including a sale for its performance-chemicals business. Texas Instruments rose more than 3% after forecasting third-quarter sales and profit that may exceed forecasts.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei  14,778.51 +120.47 +0.82%

Hang Seng 21,915.42 +498.92 +2.33%

Shanghai Composite 2,043.88 +39.11 +1.95%

FTSE  6,635.32 +12.15 +0.18%

CAC 3,946.87 +6.95 +0.18%

DAX 8,349.77 +18.71 +0.22%

Crude oil $105.76 -1.10%

Gold $1329.30 -0.50%

Most European stocks rose, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index trading near a seven-week high, as companies from Royal KPN NV to Vivendi (VIV) SA gained on plans to sell assets. U.S. index futures and Asian shares advanced.

The Stoxx 600 rose 0.1 percent to 300.53 at 9:04 a.m. in London, paring a gain of as much as 0.5 percent. Three stocks climbed for every two that dropped. Stocks rose for a fourth day yesterday as companies from UBS AG to Royal Philips Electronics NV reported increased profit.

A composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in the euro area’s services and manufacturing industries probably rose in July, Markit Economics will say tomorrow. The measure climbed to 49.1 from 48.7 in June, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey.

In Germany, the Ifo institute releases its business-climate index on Thursday. Economists surveyed forecast the measure will rise to 106.1 in July from 105.9 in June.

A release at 10 a.m. New York time will show that a measure of manufacturing in the region covered by the Federal Bank of Richmond rose to 9 in July from 8 the previous month, according to the median estimate of economists. A report yesterday showed that sales of previously owned houses in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in June.

The volume of shares changing hands in companies listed on the Stoxx 600 was 41 percent greater than the average of the last 30 days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

KPN jumped 8.1 percent to 1.95 euros after the Dutch company agreed to sell its E-Plus mobile-phone business for 5 billion euros ($6.6 billion) to Telefonica’s German unit. As part of the deal, KPN will take a 17 percent stake in Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG, which is controlled by Spain’s largest carrier,

Separately, KPN posted a second-quarter profit of 107 million euros, missing the average analyst estimate of 145 million euros. Telefonica gained 2.4 percent to 10.30 euros, while Telefonica Deutschland slipped 0.7 percent to 5.65 euros.

Vivendi climbed 3.7 percent to 16.28 euros. The company said it has entered exclusive talks with Etisalat to sell a 53 percent stake in the Moroccan phone company for 4.2 billion euros.

Swatch advanced 1.8 percent to 539 Swiss francs. The biggest maker of Swiss watches said it expects a strong second half after first-half profit rose. Net income increased 6.1 percent to 768 million Swiss francs ($821 million), the Biel, Switzerland-based company said in a statement.

FTSE 100 6,644.69 +21.52 +0.32%

CAC 40 3,947.79 +7.87 +0.20%

DAX 8,343.91 +12.85 +0.15%

Asian stocks rose, extending a two-month high, after Premier Li Keqiang said China’s economy won’t grow any slower than 7 percent and as U.S. housing data damped concerns the Federal Reserve will reduce stimulus.

Nikkei 225 14,778.51 +120.47 +0.82%

Hang Seng 21,930.69 +514.19 +2.40%

S&P/ASX 200 5,017.11 +15.25 +0.30%

Shanghai Composite 2,043.88 +39.11 +1.95%

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the world’s second-biggest lender by market value, jumped 4.1 percent in Hong Kong.

Samsung Electronics Co., the largest maker of smartphones, rose 2.7 percent in Seoul.

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. climbed 3.3 percent in Tokyo after the Nikkei newspaper reported the No. 1 steelmaker agreed to a 10 percent price increase with Toyota Motor Corp.

Nikkei 225 14,658.04 68,13 0,47%

Hang Seng 21,348.84 -13.58 -0.06%

S & P / ASX 200 5,001.9 29,81 0,60%

Shanghai Composite 2,004.76 12,11 0,61%

FTSE 100 6,628.18 -2.49 -0.04%

CAC 40 3,939.13 +13.81 +0.35%

DAX 8,327.22 -4.35 -0.05%

DJIA 15,545.50 1.81 0.01%

S&P 500 1,695.53 3.44 0.20%

NASDAQ 3,600.39 12.77 0.36%