Stocks: Tuesday’s review

Asian stocks closed in different directions as investors are cautious in anticipation of the vote in Italy on the reporting of budgetary expenditures, which, in turn, is closely connected with the vote of confidence to the Government of Berlusconi, and if the latter will not gain a majority, then in Italy can take a snap election. The political instability in Italy adversely affect the investment climate.

European stocks rose, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index rebounding from two days of losses, as Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi won a parliamentary vote on the budget yet still lost his absolute majority.

Berlusconi won 308 votes out of 630 on a routine report on Italy’s 2010 budget, Speaker Gianfranco Fini said in Rome. The yield on 10-year Italian bonds rose to 6.7 percent today after yesterday climbing to a euro-era record. European stocks dropped over the past two days, as two Berlusconi allies defected to the opposition and a third one quit.

In Greece, Prime Minister George Papandreou said a Greek national-unity government will be named “soon” and told his ministers to prepare to resign, spokesman Elias Mosialos said.

In Germany, a report from the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden showed that the country’s exports unexpectedly rose for a second month in September, helping Europe’s largest economy weather the sovereign-debt crisis. Exports, adjusted for work days and seasonal changes, increased 0.9 percent, the report said. Economists had forecast a drop of 0.8 percent, according to the median of 14 estimates.

National benchmark indexes gained in every western-European market except Luxembourg and Portugal. France’s CAC 40 Index advanced 1.3 percent, Germany’s DAX Index rose 0.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index (UKX) added 1 percent.

Vodafone advanced 1.8 percent to 176 pence. Europe’s third- largest phone company by sales predicted full-year adjusted operating profit of 11.4 billion pounds ($18.3 billion) to 11.8 billion pounds, the upper half of the range indicated in May. First-half earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization gained 2.3 percent to 7.53 billion pounds in the six months through September. Analysts had predicted profit of 7.42 billion pounds.

Repsol surged 6.3 percent to 22.23 euros after its YPF SA unit in Argentina raised estimates for the Loma La Lata field in northern Patagonia to 927 million barrels of shale oil.

Lloyds jumped 4.4 percent to 28.9 pence after posting smaller-than-estimated provisions for bad loans in the third quarter and saying it may miss its income target for 2014.

Societe Generale SA shares advanced 7.3 percent to 18.77 euros after the bank said it won’t pay a dividend for 2011, a decision that will reduce its capital needs under European Banking Authority requirements.