European stocks close:

European stocks advanced for the third time in four days as Americans went to the polls to elect their president.

ARM Holdings Plc increased 1.8 percent as Apple Inc. (AAPL) was said to explore how to use the chip designs from its mobile devices in Mac personal computers. Adecco SA (ADEN) climbed 3.2 percent after the world’s biggest supplier of temporary workers reported earnings that exceeded estimates. Volkswagen AG (VOW) dropped 4.4 percent as the carmaker sold 2.5 billion euros ($3.2 billion) of bonds that convert into shares.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) increased 0.5 percent to 274.61 at 4:35 p.m. in London, as more than two shares rose for every one that declined.

The Bank of England and the ECB will both leave their key interest rates unchanged at meetings on Nov. 8,

The Democratic Left party’s lawmakers said they won’t support the bill because of proposed changes to labor laws. Unions began a 48-hour general strike today to protest against the measures. The vote will be held as soon as tomorrow, followed by another ballot on the 2013 budget on Nov. 11.

National benchmark indexes rose in 17 of the 18 western European markets.

FTSE 100 5,884.9 +45.84 +0.79% CAC 40 3,478.66 +30.16 +0.87% DAX 7,377.76 +51.29 +0.70%     

ARM (ARM), whose chip designs power Apple’s iPhones, rose 1.8 percent to 707.5 pence. Apple’s engineers have grown confident that the chip technology used for its mobile devices will have enough power to run its desktops and laptops, according to three people familiar with the company’s research.

Adecco advanced 3.2 percent to 46.60 Swiss francs as the world’s biggest supplier of temporary workers reported third- quarter profit of 118 million euros. That beat the median analyst estimate for net income of 103.2 million euros.

Air France-KLM (AF) Group, Europe’s second-largest airline by sales, surged 5.2 percent to 7.33 euros, its highest price since August 2011. Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that Alitalia SpA, which is partly owned by Air France, plans to sell assets to avoid a capital increase.

Minimum Wage

Fraport AG gained 5.3 percent to 46.20 euros after the owner of Frankfurt airport said quarterly profit jumped 36 percent as passenger numbers increased.

Hannover Re rallied 4.4 percent to 55.87 euros as the world’s fourth-biggest reinsurer forecast record earnings this year. Third-quarter profit rose 63 percent to 265.5 million euros from 163.2 million euros a year earlier, the reinsurer said. That beat the 216 million-euro average estimate of analysts surveyed.

Andritz AG (ANDR) fell 1.9 percent to 46.93 euros as the world’s second-biggest hydropower-turbine maker said third-quarter orders declined 1.2 percent. Net income dropped 5.6 percent to 58.5 million euros, compared with the 60.4 million-euro average analyst forecast.