European stocks rose

European stocks climbed as China’s pledge to boost growth helped offset concern over Greece’s possible exit from the euro area. U.S. index futures rose, while Asian shares pared gains.

Currently:

FTSE   5,293.91 +26.29 +0.50%

CAC   3,018.35 +10.35 +0.34%

DAX 6,320.15 +48.93 +0.78%

China Premier Wen Jiabao said China will focus more on bolstering economic growth in the world’s second-largest economy.

Barclays Plc gained 1.7% after the lender said it plans to sell its entire holding in BlackRock Inc. through a registered offering and related buyback by BlackRock. Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are acting as joint bookrunners in the offering.

Man Group Plc (EMG) gained 6.2%. The world’s largest publicly traded hedge fund has agreed to buy FRM Holdings Ltd., adding $8 billion of assets invested in other hedge fund managers as its own stock price sinks.

Man will pay as much as $82.8 million in cash over three years, depending on the level of assets FRM retains following the takeover.

Ryanair (RYA) fell 2.4% after the Europe’s largest discount airline forecast net income will probably be in the range of 400 million euros to 440 million euros this year amid higher fuel costs.

The company still posted a 25% increase in net income to 502.6 million euros ($643 million) in the 12 months to March 31. Ryanair had forecast earnings of 480 million euros on Jan. 30 and analysts had expected a figure of 487 million euros. The stock pared its earlier decline of as much as 6.6%.