May 23 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks climbed as a rebound in commodity prices prompted some investors to take advantage of the market's biggest decline since May 2003.

BP Plc and Total SA rose as crude oil advanced above $71 a barrel while mining stocks including Anglo American Plc gained on higher copper and silver prices.

``Quality was punished too much, and that's a good opportunity to pick up some stocks,'' said Bernhard Maeder, a fund manager at Credit Suisse Asset Management in Zurich, who oversees $710 million and used the dip to buy commodity shares. ``We had a period of emotion and now it's back to valuations.''

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rose 2.6 percent to 317.51 in London, its biggest gain since April 7, 2003. The Stoxx 50 added 2 percent, while the Euro Stoxx 50 index for the 12 countries using the euro climbed 2.3 percent.

Europe's emerging markets led a recovery by exchanges across the globe, with Russia's RTS Index climbing 6.8 percent and Turkey's ISE National 100 benchmark gaining 2.4 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index advanced in the U.S.

Stocks bounced back from yesterday's slump as concern eases that interest rates will hurt the global economy and corporate profits. The Stoxx 600 lost all of its 2006 gains in the previous session, posting its biggest drop since May 19, 2003.

The Stoxx 600 plunged 10 percent from May 10 through yesterday, the biggest loss at any time since a rally that started on March 13, 2003. The decline wiped out more than $1.25 trillion from its companies' market value.

ASML Holding NV jumped today after boosting its order forecast for chip equipment. Euronext NV gained after Deutsche Boerse AG topped NYSE Group Inc.'s rival offer for the exchange.

`Natural Correction'

``You can go back over many bull markets and still see five to eight percent corrections,'' said Alex Crooke, who manages $740 million in equities at Henderson Global Investors. ``We are now at about a 10 percent fall in London from the highs and that is on the cusp of where you call it a natural correction.''

Crude oil topped $71 a barrel in New York on speculation that last week's drop in energy and metals prices was larger than justified given global economic growth.

Indexes gained in all 18 western European markets. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index rose 2.6 percent. France's CAC 40 added 2.5 percent. Germany's DAX added 2.4 percent.

BP, Europe's biggest oil company, climbed 4.2 percent to 635 pence. Total, the region's third largest, added 2.1 percent to 50.9 euros.

``I would continue to back oil stocks within this sort of market as they are going to deliver longer term growth,'' said Jane Coffey, head of global equities at Royal London Asset Management, which oversees about $14 billion. ``The sharpness of the fall has surprised me. Stocks will stabilize.''

Eni, BHP

Eni SpA, Europe's fourth-biggest oil company, gained 2.9 percent to 23.15 euros. Eni said it won five of the six licenses awarded in East Timor's first auction of offshore oil and gas exploration rights.

Mining stocks were the best performing industry group today, gaining 7.6 percent. The Basic Resources Index fell 6.1 percent yesterday, its biggest decline since October 1997.

BHP Billiton Plc, the world's largest mining company, rose 8.2 percent to 1,042 pence, the most in more than five years, while Anglo American, the second biggest, climbed 9.2 percent to 2,080 pence, the most in almost seven years.

Commodities rose for a second day, led by copper and silver, on speculation that demand for raw materials may be strong enough to resume the longest rally in more than five decades. Copper climbed more than 10 percent, its largest-ever gain.

ASML, the world's largest maker of lithography semiconductor machines, advanced 7.3 percent to 15.54 euros, its biggest gain since Oct. 28, 2003. The company raised its forecast for second-quarter orders, saying bookings will be at least 40 percent higher than in the first three months.

Topped Bid

Euronext shares climbed 3.6 percent to 70 euros. Deutsche Boerse bid 8.62 billion euros ($11.1 billion) in cash and shares for Euronext, topping NYSE Group's offer as it seeks to create Europe's biggest stock market. Deutsche Boerse shares gained 1.4 percent to 102.76 euros.

Royal Philips Electronics NV, Europe's largest consumer- electronics maker, rose 4.3 percent to 24.79 euros, its second advance in twelve sessions. The company agreed to buy Avent Holdings Ltd. for 460 million pounds ($868 million) in cash from Charterhouse Capital Partners LLP to add a provider of baby and infant feeding products to its appliances division.

Yell Group Plc, a publisher of Yellow Pages directories in Britain and the U.S., gained 9 percent to 505 pence. Yell said full-year profit rose 31 percent to 212.3 million pounds, bolstered by its U.K. Internet division and the purchase of TransWestern Holdings LP in the U.S.

Nokia, Marks & Spencer

Topdanmark A/S rose 7.8 percent to 758 kroner. Denmark's second-largest insurer said first-quarter profit almost tripled to 418 million kroner ($72 million) on higher premiums and lower costs. The company also increased its full-year forecast.

Nokia Oyj climbed 4.2 percent to 16.75 euros. Maynard Um, an analyst at UBS AG, said the world's biggest cell-phone maker's competitive position is improving.

``We believe the mobile device industry will show strong value growth,'' Um said in a note to clients, predicting growth of at least 10 percent.

Associated British Ports Holdings Plc, the largest operator of U.K. ports, surged 15 percent to a record 770 pence. A team led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its bid for the company 11 percent to 2.4 billion pounds.

Marks & Spencer Group Plc, the U.K.'s largest clothing retailer, slid 3.2 percent to 549 pence, the second-biggest decliner in the Stoxx 600, even after its earnings beat estimates. Some analysts said sales increases in redesigned stores were less than they expected.

To contact the reporter on this story: Martin Boer in Amsterdam at mboer1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 23, 2006 12:24 EDT