European stock rose

European stocks rose, heading for their first weekly rally of the year, as investors awaited data that may show American jobs made the biggest annual gain since 2005. U.S. stock futures and Asian shares were little changed.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.5 percent to 329.92 at 8:11 a.m. in London. The benchmark gauge has risen 0.7 percent this week as reports on German unemployment U.S. private jobs beat economists’ projections. It jumped 17 percent in 2013.

“The main event today is the non-farm payrolls report,” Michael Hewson, a market strategist at CMC Markets Plc in London, wrote in a note. “We shouldn’t forget that we could also see significant revisions to the previous two months and they are also quite likely to move the dial.”

A Labor Department report will probably show U.S. employers hired 197,000 workers in December, following the 203,000 people recruited a month earlier, according to economists. The projected gain would bring the increase in 2013 to 2.27 million, the biggest annual gain since 2005. Economists also expect the unemployment rate to have stayed at 7 percent in December.

The ADP Research Institute’s figures on Jan. 8 showed U.S. companies added more workers last month than economists forecast.

Swatch climbed 3.7 percent to 570 Swiss francs. The biggest maker of Swiss watches reported 2013 gross sales of 8.82 billion francs ($9.7 billion), compared with the average analyst estimate of 8.86 billion francs.

Metro increased 3.3 percent to 35.13 euros. Franz Haniel & Cie. which owns 30 percent of the German retailer, may ask Metro to sell its Real, Kaufhof or Media-Saturn units, Platow Brief reported without citing anyone. Metro chief Olaf Koch opposes the move, Platow said. Haniel CEO Stephan Gemkow may not extend Koch’s contract when it comes up for renewal this year, according to the German newsletter.

Norsk Hydro ASA, an Oslo-based supplier of aluminum and its products, declined 0.8 percent to 27.58 kroner. Alcoa Inc. marked the unofficial start of the U.S. earnings-reporting season yesterday as the largest American aluminum maker reported fourth-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates.

FTSE 100 6,750.69 +59.35 +0.89%

CAC 40 4,256.25 +31.11 +0.74%

DAX 9,510.85 +89.24 +0.95%