Stocks in Europe, Asia gain on stimulus measures

Stocks in Europe and Asia climbed, trimming the MSCI World Index's worst annual decline on record, as governments stepped up measures to boost the global economy. US index futures advanced.

Rio Tinto Group, which was valued this month at the cheapest on record relative to earnings, added 1.5 percent. General Motors Corp jumped 10 percent in Germany as the US Treasury committed $6 billion to support the automaker's financing arm.

"To see the US supporting a company like GM is positive," said Kilian de Kertanguy, a fund manager at Cholet-Dupont Gestion in Paris, which oversees about $2.3 billion. "There isn't much activity this week, however, so the market is rising in a vacuum."