European Stocks, U.S. Futures Advance as Italy Seeks to Cut Debt

A gauge of lenders led gains on the Stoxx 600 as UniCreditSpA, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA and BNP Paribas SA jumped for the moment 3.5percent. Aberdeen Asset Management Plc climbed 3.7 percent afterthe Scottish fund manager reported profit and sales that toppedestimates. SAP AG fell 1.6 percent as the largest maker ofbusiness-management software agreed to buy SuccessFactors Inc.for $3.4 billion in cash.

SAP slipped 1.6 percent to 44 euros. The German softwaremaker agreed to buy San Mateo, California-based SuccessFactorson Dec. 3 to better meet demand for new technologies such ascloud computing, real-time analytics and mobile applications.

UBS AG downgraded SAP to "neutral" from "buy," sayingthat the software company's decision to acquire technologyrather than develop it internally does "raise questions aboutSAP's competitiveness in other on-demand areas."