German Drugmaker Merck, France’s Alstom Lead European Stocks Higher

European stocks rose Thursday, as good news from companies including Merck KGaA and Alstom SA led benchmark indices back into positive territory. Merck was up more than 2% Frankfurt after the Darmstadt-based chemical and pharmaceutical maker raised its full-year sales forecast. Alstom rose in Paris as investors welcomed its plans to return €3.5 billion to €4 billion in cash through a share buyback, as it proceeds with the sale of energy assets to General Electric Co., with a shareholder vote on the deal scheduled to take place next month. Among decliners were Dutch insurer Aegon NV after posting lower than expected third-quarter net income, while German utility RWE AG fell in Frankfurt after reporting a 60% drop in nine-month profit following a renegotiation of prices for its gas purchasing agreements.