European stocks close:

European stocks rose to a one-week high after a report said that policy makers will next week unveil an economic reform program for Spain that will allow the country to seek a bailout.

Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos is in talks with European Commission authorities to facilitate a new bailout program that will be presented Sept. 27, the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified officials involved in the discussions. The plan will focus on structural measures sought by the EU and not on new taxes or spending cuts, the FT said.

The yield on Spain’s 10-year bonds fell two basis points this week to 5.76 percent. It rose above the 6 percent mark in intraday trading earlier in the week.

National benchmark indexes advanced in 13 of the 18 western-European markets. Germany’s DAX gained 0.8 percent, France’s CAC 40 added 0.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was little changed.

Novo Nordisk climbed 1.3 percent to 917 kroner after UBS raised the rating on the shares to buy from neutral.

Devgen NV soared 69 percent to 15.89 euros, the biggest rally since it sold shares to the public in June 2005, after Syngenta AG offered to buy the company for 16 euros per share. That’s a 70 percent-premium to yesterday’s closing price of 9.43 euros.

Mediobanca SpA, Italy’s biggest publicly traded investment bank, gained 3.3 percent to 4.21 euros after UBS AG raised its share-price target to 4.1 euros from 3.5 euros and kept a neutral rating.