European Stocks Advance the Most in Four Weeks as Vodafone Gains

European stocks advanced the most in four weeks as trading resumed after a four-day weekend and a report showed U.S. factory orders increased in February.

Vodafone Group Plc rallied to its highest price in more than five years as the Financial Times’s Alphaville blog reported that AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. are working on a joint offer for the mobile-phone company. FirstGroup Plc surged the most in four years after Bank of America Corp. upgraded the rail and bus operator. Hellenic Bank Pcl sank 20 percent as Cypriot shares traded for the first time in more than two weeks.