European stocks rose, rebounding
from a four-week low, as data showed the U.S. economy expanded
in the second quarter at the fastest rate since the last three
months of 2011.

Total SA advanced 2.3 percent following a report that it
may sell a stake in the Gulf of Mexico’s Tahiti oil field. Air
France-KLM Group dropped 1.7 percent after the board said pilot
demands don’t fit with its plan for a low-cost model. J
Sainsbury Plc lost 3.1 percent as data from researcher Nielsen
Holdings NV showed 12-week sales at the grocer fell 1.8 percent.
A gauge of retail companies fell the most of the 19 industry
groups on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.

The Stoxx 600 climbed 0.3 percent to 342.3 at the close of
trading, after earlier rising and falling as much as 0.5
percent. The equity benchmark fell 1.8 percent this week, as
investors assessed the health of the euro-area economy and
central-bank stimulus policies.

“We are seeing investor confidence in the U.S. economy,”
Robert Halver, head of capital-markets research at Baader Bank
AG in Frankfurt, said in a telephone interview. “America
imports goods and services from euro-land and if the economy of
America — the main motor of the global economy — is running on
all cylinders, it means we can export more.”

U.S. gross domestic product grew at a revised 4.6 percent
annualized rate in the second quarter, up from a previous
estimate of 4.2 percent, Commerce Department data showed today
in Washington. The increase matched the median forecast of
economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and followed a 2.1 percent
decline in the first three months of the year.

U.S. Consumers

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final September
index of sentiment rose to 84.6 from 82.5 a month earlier. The
median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for
84.8 after a preliminary September reading of 84.6.

In the U.K., lawmakers are voting today on whether to
authorize air strikes on Islamic State positions in Iraq.
Military action may start within days if the proposal is
approved, a government official said.

National benchmark indexes climbed in 13 of the 18 western-European markets. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.2 percent,
Germany’s DAX Index slid 0.2 percent, and France’s CAC Index
jumped 0.9 percent.

Total (FP) rose 2.3 percent to 50.73 euros. Europe’s biggest
refiner may sell a 17 percent stake in the Gulf of Mexico’s
Tahiti oil field, which could fetch $1.5 billion to $2 billion,
Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Air France-KLM

Air France-KLM slid 1.7 percent to 7.49 euros. The
airline’s board called on striking pilots to resume their
duties, saying that demands for a single contract aren’t
compatible with the low-cost model it is pursuing.

J Sainsbury fell 3.1 percent to 250.1 pence. The company’s
share of the grocery market fell to 16.2 percent from 16.3
percent a year earlier, according to Nielsen. Overall U.K.
consumer spending at leading supermarkets declined 1.6 percent
on-year in the four weeks to Sept. 13, Nielsen said.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc slid 1.8 percent to 171 pence.
Sales declined 2.2 percent in the 12 weeks to Sept. 13 and its
market share fell to 11 percent from 11.2 percent, the Nielsen
report showed.

Allianz SE retreated 6.2 percent to 128.20 euros in
Frankfurt, the most in almost three years. The German insurer
that owns Pacific Investment Management Co. slid after Bill Gross, Pimco’s co-founder and chief investment officer, quit to
join Janus Capital Group Inc.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Jonathan Morgan in Frankfurt at
jmorgan157@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Cecile Vannucci at
cvannucci1@bloomberg.net
Alan Soughley, Srinivasan Sivabalan