May 2 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose as crude-oil futures in New York fell to the lowest in more than two months, easing concern that higher energy prices will hurt profits.

Carmakers such as PSA Peugeot Citroen and chemical makers including Syngenta AG led the gain.

``The decline in oil is helping'' stocks on optimism that demand will improve, said Tony Campione, a fund manager at Agilis Gestion in Paris, which oversees $129 million. He has been buying shares of Michelin & Cie., the world's largest tiremaker, and Peugeot, Europe's second-biggest automaker.

Shares of chip-related companies including Infineon Technologies AG and ASML Holding NV advanced after the Semiconductor Industry Association said sales of semiconductors worldwide rose 13 percent in the first quarter.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index climbed 0.4 percent to 257.18 as of 1:32 p.m. in London. All 18 industry groups gained. The Euro Stoxx 50, a measure for the 12 nations using the euro, added 0.7 percent and the Stoxx 50 increased 0.4 percent.

Adidas-Salomon AG jumped after the world's second-largest sporting-goods maker agreed to sell its Salomon winter-sports unit to Amer Sports Oyj for 485 million euros ($624 million). Shares of Amer, the maker Atomic skis and Wilson tennis and golf gear, surged.

Indexes rose in all of the 15 Western European markets that were open except Luxembourg. Stock exchanges in the U.K., Ireland and Greece are closed today for holidays.

Germany's DAX Index advanced 1.1 percent and France's CAC 40 Index increased 0.8 percent. Spain's IBEX 35 Index had the biggest gain, up 1.3 percent, led by Grupo Ferrovial SA. Euro Stoxx 50 futures expiring in June added 0.8 percent.

Oil Slips

Crude oil for June delivery slipped as much as 1.4 percent to $49.03 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil futures reached the lowest since Feb. 22 on speculation slower economic growth in the U.S., Europe and Japan will curb demand.

Peugeot rose 1 percent to 46.17 euros. Syngenta, the world's biggest maker of agricultural chemicals, added 1.9 percent to 125.6 Swiss francs. Chemical makers use oil-derived raw materials.

The price of oil has dropped 11 percent since April 22 on reports of the slowest U.S. economic growth in two years, falling industrial production in Japan and a cut in the German government's economic forecast.

``The lower oil price is helping turn sentiment positive,'' said Patrick Casselman, who oversees about $649 million in stocks at KBC Asset Management in Brussels. He's been buying shares of ASML and ASM International NV, Europe's biggest makers of semiconductor equipment.

Chip Sales

Worldwide chip sales reached $55.3 billion in the first three months of the year, San Jose, California-based SIA said. Revenue may rise in the second quarter from the previous period, according to the SIA.

Infineon, Europe's largest chipmaker, rose 2.5 percent to 6.59 euros. ASML gained 1.4 percent to 11.27 euros.

Adidas-Salomon advanced 6.6 percent to 128 euros. The company, based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, said it was selling brands including Salomon to focus on the more profitable business of soccer shoes and golf clubs.

It also said 2005 profit will increase at the higher end of its 10 percent to 15 percent forecast. First-quarter net income rose 43 percent to 105 million euros, higher than the 95-million euro median estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Helsinki-based Amer soared 8.3 percent to 13.9 euros.

Railway Link

Ferrovial, Spain's second-largest construction company, advanced 3.1 percent to 45.4 euros. It is among Spanish builders that may bid for a contract worth as much as 4 billion euros to build an underground railway link in Dublin, La Gaceta reported, without identifying who provided the information.

Capitalia SpA rose 4.3 percent to 4.31 euros on speculation ABN Amro Holding NV, the largest Dutch lender, will bid for Italy's fourth-largest bank if it fails to buy Banca Antonveneta SpA.

``ABN could now jump on Capitalia,'' said Daniele Tolusso, a trader at Uniprof Sim in Milan, who heard the rumor today.

A Capitalia spokesman, who asked not be identified, declined to comment. A message left for an ABN Amro spokesman wasn't immediately returned.

ABN Amro slipped 0.8 percent to 18.69 euros. Antonveneta investors elected 15 candidates from rival Banca Popolare di Lodi Scrl onto its board, boosting Lodi's chances of its own planned bid and blocking ABN Amro's offer.

ABN Amro shares also traded without the right to the second- half dividend of 50 cents.

Antonveneta added 0.5 percent to 25.98 euros and Lodi advanced 2.2 percent to 7.95 euros.

Takeover Offer

Versatel Telecom International NV, the second-largest Dutch provider of phone services, jumped 24 percent to 2.18 euros. The company said it's in talks with Belgacom SA, Belgium's state- controlled telephone company, and may receive a takeover offer. Belgacom stock lost 0.3 percent to 29.52 euros.

Scania AB, Europe's fourth-largest truckmaker, and Fondiaria- SAI SpA, an Italian property and casualty insurer, fell 4.4 percent and 3.6 percent respectively. Buyers of the shares today aren't entitled to the latest dividends.

Kone Oyj, the world's fourth-biggest maker of elevators, gained 3.3 percent to 60.96 euros. The Helsinki-based company, which is also the largest maker of container-loading equipment, said operating profit at its two businesses advanced in the three months through March on higher demand.

Oil Production

Etablissements Maurel & Prom SA, a Paris-based oil exploration company, rose 4 percent to 15.71 euros. It said production in Gabon may climb to as much as 9,500 barrels a day at the end of 2006, up from 750 barrels. Current total production capacity is between 26,000 barrels and 27,000 barrels a day, the company said.

Manufacturing in the dozen countries sharing the euro contracted for the first time in almost two years in April, according to an index based on a survey of about 3,000 purchasing managers compiled by NTC Research Ltd. for Reuters Group Plc.

The index fell to 49.2 from 50.4 in March, figures available on the Internet showed today. Economists forecast a decline to 49.8, the median of 35 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey showed. The index hadn't dropped below 50, which indicates contraction, since August 2003.

In April, the Stoxx 600 slid 2.3 percent and the Stoxx 50 fell 1.7 percent, the biggest monthly losses since March 2003, amid concern economic growth is slowing.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kotaro Miyata in London at kmiyata2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 2, 2005 08:35 EDT