European stocks close

European stocks rose for a second day after a report showed Chinese exports climbed more than expected and a gauge of telecommunications operators gained.

A report showed China’s imports increased 5.3 percent, falling short of the median economist estimate of 7 percent. The release from the General Administration of Customs yesterday also showed that exports from the world’s second-biggest economy rose 12.7 percent last month from a year earlier, exceeding projections from all but one of 42 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The country’s trade surplus widened to $33.8 billion in November, the biggest gap since January 2009.

National benchmark indexes advanced in every western-European market except Switzerland and Luxembourg. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.1 percent, while Germany’s DAX climbed 0.3 percent.

Inmarsat jumped 5.8 percent to 730.5 pence after announcing the first successful launch of a Global Xpress satellite. A gauge of telecommunications-related companies gained 0.6 percent as mobile-phone operators from Vodafone Group Plc to Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG added more than 1 percent.

Monte Paschi gained 4.9 percent to 17 euro cents. The foundation that owns almost 38 percent of Italy’s third-largest lender said it would consider a share sale taking place on or after May 12, according to a statement.

Sky Deutschland AG jumped 5.2 percent to 8.12 euros after the German pay-television provider controlled by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. acquired the rights to broadcast Champions League soccer matches in Europe’s largest economy through 2018.

British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc, which is also owned by Murdoch, lost the contest to televise Europe’s most important club soccer competition in the U.K. last month. BSkyB’s shares slumped 11 percent on Nov. 11, the first trading day after BT Group Plc announced it had the exclusive live rights to show all Champions League and Europa League games.