European Stocks May Rise; Roche, Allianz and BASF Share of Might Advance

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks may rise, following gains in Asian equities. Roche Holding AG and Allianz SE might advance after their U.S. traded-securities ended higher than their close in Europe.

BASF AG, the world's largest chemical company, will probably lead an advance by chemical makers as oil declined for a sixth day. ABN Amro Holding NV may be active after a Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc-led group's bid for the Dutch company's LaSalle Bank unit was rejected.


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Highlights-Officials' remarks on currencies, imbalances at ADB

(Reuters) - Finance ministers from the Association of South East Asian Nations plus China, Japan and South Korea agreed on Saturday to pool foreign reserves as part of a regionwide effort to help avoid any future financial crisis. They met on the sidelines of the May 4-7 ADB meeting in Kyoto, western Japan.

Following are officials' remarks on global imbalances and currencies at these meetings:


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Switzerland's Unemployment Falls in April, Keeping Rate at a One-Year Low

(Bloomberg) -- The number of people unemployed in Switzerland declined last month, keeping the jobless rate at a one-year low, suggesting consumer spending will help support economic growth this year.

The number of jobless dropped by 636 to 112,762, keeping the unemployment rate at 2.9 percent, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs in Bern said today. Economists expected the rate to decline to 2.8 percent, according to the median of 17 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.


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Bouygues, Ciments Francais, Euler Hermes, Publicis: French Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall on the Paris stock exchange tomorrow. Symbols are in parentheses after company names. Prices are from the May 4 close.

The CAC 40 Index gained 64.55, or 1.1 percent, to 6068.83 in Paris, reaching the highest in more than six years. Thirty- five stocks climbed, three fell and one was unchanged. The broader SBF 120 Index also increased 1.1 percent.


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Japan's Hiroshima Bank, Jupiter Gain After Shares Included in MSCI Indexes

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Hiroshima Bank Ltd. and Nomura Real Estate Holdings Inc. climbed after they were among nine companies selected to join MSCI Barra's equity benchmarks, according to an annual review announcement on the index provider's Web site on May 3. Japan's markets were closed for a holiday on May 4.

Uniden Corp. led declines among the nine companies scheduled to be deleted from the gauges.


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Indonesian Rupiah Rises to One-Year High on Inflows; Asian Currencies Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia's rupiah climbed to the strongest in almost a year, the biggest fluctuation of any currency today, after buying by foreign investors drove the benchmark stock index to a record.

The rupiah rose for a fifth day as the central bank may cut interest rates tomorrow to boost economic growth. The rupiah also appreciated after a U.S. government report on May 4 showed employers added the fewest jobs in more than two years.


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Malaysia Palm Oil Falls on Concern Losses in Other Oils May Curb Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Palm oil futures fell for a second day amid concern that a drop in prices of rival vegetable oils may curb demand.

Soybean oil fell 1.4 percent from a three-year high in Chicago on May 4 on speculation that prices will curb demand for the commodity to make into fuel, while canola oil, traded on the Winnipeg Commodities Exchange, fell 0.8 percent. Vegetable oil prices usually move in lockstep.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News