While Asian shares climbed.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG added 3.9 percent after posting first-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates. Vivendi SA advanced after Activision Blizzard Inc. said the French conglomerate will sell about half of its remaining stake in the video-game maker. Royal Mail Plc slid 5.6 percent after reporting earnings that missed analysts’ estimates.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.3 percent to 341.21 at 8:10 a.m. in London. The benchmark gauge rose this month and last closed within 0.5 percent of its six-year high reached May 13, pushed up by an increase in deals activity and as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said policy makers are ready to act next month if necessary. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures added 0.1 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 1.2 percent.

Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s April 29-30 meeting showed that policy makers expect inflation to remain well below their long-term target of 2 percent. Some members also said the Fed should communicate its monetary strategy more clearly as it moves closer toward increasing interest rates.
China Manufacturing

In China, a preliminary purchasing managers’ index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics rose to 49.7 in May, a five-month high. That exceeded the 48.3 median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. April’s final reading was at 48.1. Readings below 50 signal contraction.

A Markit Economics report at 10 a.m. Frankfurt time may show manufacturing in the euro area fell to 53.2 this month from 53.4 in April. In the U.S., the data may show it rose to 55.5 from 55.4 in April, according to economists’ projections in a Bloomberg survey.

Separate figures at 8:30 a.m. in Washington may show more Americans filed for jobless claims in the week ended May 17. Another report will probably show that existing home sales in the U.S. rose to a 4.69 million annual pace in April from a 4.59 million rate a month earlier.

Raiffeisen advanced 3.9 percent to 23 euros after reporting first-quarter net income of 161 million euros ($220 million), exceeding the 128-million euro average of analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

Vivendi rose 0.7 percent to 19.12 euros. It plans to sell 41.5 million shares in Activision by May 28 under an existing agreement, according to a statement. The stake is valued at $866 million, based on yesterday’s close.

Royal Mail declined 5.6 percent to 543 pence. The U.K. postal service posted full-year pretax profit excluding some items of 363 million pounds ($613 million). That missed the average analyst estimate of 406 million pounds in a Bloomberg survey.