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European stocks rose for a fifth day, extending an 11-week high, as a report showed the euro area’s economy emerged from a record-long recession in the second quarter.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.3 percent to 308.77 at 4:30 p.m. in London. The gauge has rallied 12 percent since reaching a low on June 24 amid better-than-forecast economic data and as central banks signalled interest rates will remain low for an extended period.

Gross domestic product in the 17-nation euro area expanded 0.3 percent in the April-June period after a 0.3 percent contraction in the previous three months, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That exceeded the median estimate of 0.2 percent growth. From a year earlier, the economy shrank 0.7 percent in the second quarter.

The German economy expanded 0.7 percent in the second quarter from the previous period, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today. Economists had forecast a gain of 0.6 percent.

French gross domestic product grew a more-than-anticipated 0.5 percent in the three months through June, the national statistics office Insee said today in Paris. That beat the median estimate of a 0.2

Portugal’s economy grew in the three months through June more than estimated after shrinking in the 10 previous quarters. Gross domestic product increased 1.1 percent from the first quarter, when it fell 0.4 percent, the Lisbon-based National Statistics Institute said today. Economists had predicted a rise of 0.1 percent.

The Federal Open Market Committee will probably reduce its $85 billion in monthly bond buying at its next meeting on Sept. 17-18, according to 65 percent of economists surveyed by Bloomberg from Aug. 9 to Aug. 13. In a survey last month, half of economists predicted a cut in purchases at that meeting.

National benchmark indexes advanced in 12 of the 18 western European markets today.

FTSE 100 6,587.43 -24.51 -0.37% CAC 40 4,114.2 +21.70 +0.53% DAX 8,438.12 +22.36 +0.27%

Subsea 7 soared 8.5 percent to 121 kroner, its biggest gain since June 2010. The company posted a second-quarter net loss of $17.3 million, compared with forecasts for a loss of $131 million. Sales came in at $1.68 billion, beating analysts’ estimates for $1.65 billion.

Rentokil jumped 6.8 percent to 103.6 pence, its highest price since January 2011. The pest control and hygiene-services company reported a 5.2 percent increase in first-half operating profit and 3.7 percent rise in revenue as growth accelerated in the second quarter and business outside Europe picked up.

RWE lost 4.6 percent to 21.34 euros. Germany’s second-largest utility said recurrent net income, the measure used to calculate the dividend, climbed to 1.99 billion euros from 1.67 billion euros a year earlier, missing the 2.1 billion-euro average estimate of analysts.

Celesio AG slipped 1.2 percent to 16.28 euros. The company cut its 2013 forecast for adjusted earnings before interest and taxes to 405 million euros to 425 million euros, down from 445 million euros to 475 million euros, citing discount competition in the German wholesale market and additional negative currency effects.

Portugal Telecom SGPS SA tumbled 7.1 percent to 2.94 euros after cutting its annual dividend to 10 euro cents per share for 2013 and 2014 from 32.5 cents in 2012.