European stocks close

European stocks climbed to a one- week high as euro-area finance ministers met for the first time this year to address the region’s debt crisis.

Euro-area finance ministers gathered in Brussels today to discuss how to channel firewall funds to banks. Policy makers were likely to debate how and when the 500 billion-euro ($666 billion) European Stability Mechanism can bypass governments.

In Asia, the Bank of Japan will expand asset purchases when a two-day meeting concludes tomorrow, according to all 23 economists in a Bloomberg survey. The median estimate projects a 10 trillion yen ($111 billion) increase.

National benchmark indexes climbed in 14 of Europe’s 18 western markets. France’s CAC 40 gained 0.5 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.4 percent, while Germany’s DAX increased 0.6 percent. The Swiss Market Index fell 0.4 percent.

Admiral surged 5.3 percent to 1,215 pence as Goldman Sachs raised its recommendation to buy from neutral and added the shares to its “conviction buy” list, citing the stock’s underperformance over the past six months.

Richemont led luxury companies lower, tumbling 5.6 percent to 74.30 Swiss francs for the biggest decline since June 1. The maker of Cartier jewelry said third-quarter revenue rose 9.3 percent to 2.86 billion euros ($3.8 billion), missing the 2.91 billion-euro average of seven analyst estimates, after Asia Pacific sales stagnated.

Sky Deutschland AG declined 5.4 percent to 4.49 euros after the German pay-TV company forecast a wider-than-estimated annual loss and said it will sell 20.4 million new shares at 4.46 euros apiece.