Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks may rise. Kingfisher Plc and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA might gain after their U.S.-traded securities advanced following the close of exchanges in Europe.

Munich Re may be active after forecasting less than 100 million euros ($136 million) in claims from the weekend earthquake and tsunamis in Asia. Elan Corp. said it won approval from U.S. regulators for its Prialt painkiller.

January futures on France's CAC 40 Index rose 4 to 3835 as of 7:15 a.m. in London. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index may gain 8 to 4806.10 and Germany's DAX Index might advance 5 to 4266.79, according to IG Index, a spread-betting company. The U.K. and Ireland reopen for trading today after the Christmas break.

American depositary receipts of Kingfisher, the world's third- largest home-improvement retailer, gained 3 percent from where the shares ended in London. ADRs of LVMH, the world's largest luxury- goods maker, rose 1 percent from the shares' close in Paris.

U.S. benchmarks closed at three-year highs yesterday after a measure of consumer confidence climbed to the highest since July.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index had a reading of 102.3 in December, exceeding the highest estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Expectations for the economy over the next six months also climbed to the highest level since July.

Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurer, said late yesterday that insurers' costs industrywide from the earthquake and tidal waves probably will be limited because much of the region's property isn't covered.

The insurer estimated economic damages from the tsunami at more than $10 billion.

Drug Approval

Elan, Ireland's biggest drugmaker, won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Prialt painkiller. Prialt may be available in the U.S. in late January, Elan said.

SSL International Plc, the maker of Durex condoms, maker, may be active. The company is being reviewed by business intelligence firm GPW as part of a possible bid for the company, the Financial Times reported, without saying where it got the information.

GPW has started due diligence on SSL on behalf of an unnamed corporate client, the FT said. Household products maker Reckitt Benckiser Plc has previously expressed interest in buying the company, according to the newspaper.

Rhodia SA, France's largest specialty chemicals maker, plans to be profitable by 2006, Handelsblatt newspaper said, citing an interview with Chief Operating Officer Gilles Auffret.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.7 percent to 1213.54, a level not seen since August 2001. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also gained 0.7 percent to 10,854.54, while the Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.1 percent to 2177.19. Both closed at their highest since June 2001.

Asian stocks gained, led by exporters including Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Hyundai Motor Co., on optimism their sales will gain from increased of U.S. consumer confidence.

Morgan Stanley Capital International's Asia-Pacific Index, which tracks about 900 stocks, added less than 0.1 percent to 99.95. The benchmark earlier gained as much as 0.1 percent to 99.98, the highest in four years.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian McGee in London at bmcgee3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 29, 2004 02:28 EST