European stocks climbed for a second day

European stocks climbed for a second day, erasing an earlier drop, as American lawmakers continued to debate plans to address the so-called fiscal cliff. U.S. index futures and Asian shares were little changed.

President Barack Obama’s administration rejected a Republican plan for tackling the fiscal cliff as it didn’t include higher tax rates for top-earning Americans, something the president has called essential. House Speaker John Boehner proposed $1.4 trillion in spending cuts and $800 billion in new revenue by limiting tax breaks and capping deductions.

Finance chiefs from the European Union’s 27 nations meet in Brussels today to discuss setting up a common bank supervisor as part of a wider crisis-fighting plan. French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici told reporters yesterday he is “confident” Greece will pull off a successful bond buyback.

European governments are counting on the buyback as a market-based way of cutting Greece’s debt, paving the way for continued aid payments. Finance ministers set a Dec. 13 meeting to release the next 34.4 billion euros ($45 billion) for Greece.

Oerlikon climbed 4.5 percent to 10.55 Swiss francs after the company raised its full-year guidance and announced the sale of its solar and natural fibers divisions to Chinese investor Pan Xueping’s Jinsheng Group.

TUI Travel climbed 2.7 percent to 276.2 pence after the tour operator reported full-year underlying pretax profit of 390 million pounds ($626 million), beating the average analyst estimate of 357.9 million pounds. The company also increased its final dividend by 4 percent.

Elekta AB jumped 6.2 percent to 101.80 kronor after the Swedish maker of radiation-surgery equipment reported second- quarter net income of 258 million kroner ($39 million) and sales of 2.49 billion kroner, topping analyst estimates.

FTSE 100 5,877.9 +6.66 +0.11%

CAC 40  3,591.68 +25.09 +0.70%

DAX 7,455.33 +20.12 +0.27%