European Stocks Erase Slide as RWE Rises

Bloomberg (14/01) -- European stocks erased their decline in the final half an hour of trading as RWE AG rallied, leading utility shares higher.

RWE jumped 5 percent after a German federal court ruled in its favor. Celesio AG slid 4.4 percent after McKesson Corp. said it failed to gain support from enough of the drug wholesaler’s shareholders to complete an acquisition. Jeronimo Martins SGPS SA declined 2.8 percent after the Portuguese retailer said sales growth slowed in Poland, its largest market. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.2 percent to 331.23 at the close of trading in London. The gauge declined as much as 1 percent today as investors weighed equity valuations after closing yesterday at its highest level since May 2008. The European equity benchmark traded at 13.9 times its members’ projected earnings at yesterday’s close. The index ended 2013 at its highest valuation since the end of 2009. Earnings for the index probably fell 5 percent last year, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. They may rebound in 2014, climbing 14 percent.