Europe Stocks Rise to Highest Since ’08 on Holcim, Lafarge Talks

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European stocks rose to a six-year high as Holcim Ltd. and Lafarge SA rallied and a U.S. report showed that the world™s biggest economy created more jobs in February than initially estimated.

Holcim jumped 6.9 percent after saying it has held advanced merger discussions with Lafarge, which surged 8.9 percent. Remy Cointreau SA increased 3.6 percent following a report that Brown-Forman Corp. has considered a purchase of the cognac maker. EasyJet Plc rose 2 percent after the low-cost airline said more passengers took its flights last month.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.6 percent to 339.18 at the close, its highest level since January 2008. The benchmark has advanced 4.6 percent since March 24 as improving U.S. economic data signaled that the world™s largest economy is recovering from the harsh winter. European equities have climbed 1.6 percent this week.

The Labor Department report showed that U.S. employers hired a net 192,000 people in March, fewer than the median economist estimate of 200,000 in a Bloomberg News survey. The government revised up the number of new hires in February to 197,000 from 175,000, showing that the bad winter had less of an impact on the jobs market than previously predicted. The release also showed that the unemployment rate stayed at 6.7 percent last month.

Copy Source : Bloomberg