European Stocks Little Changed After Two-Day Rally; H&M Declines

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European stocks were little changed, after a two-day rally, as retailers fell, while food and beverage companies climbed.

Hennes & Mauritz AB lost 4.3 percent after reporting quarterly profit that missed analysts™ estimates. Babcock International Group Plc posted the biggest drop in four years after agreeing to buy private equity-owned Avincis Group. United Internet AG added 5 percent after saying that earnings jumped 25 percent last year. Marine Harvest ASA rose 2.4 percent after the salmon farmer agreed to sell U.K. farming assets to Cooke Aquaculture Inc.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.1 percent to 331.4 at the close of trading in London, after jumping 2 percent in the past two days. The gauge is down 2 percent this month, its biggest decline since June, amid tension between Russia and the West over Ukraine.

The U.S. and the European Union have imposed financial sanctions on Russian and Ukrainian officials as well associates of President Vladimir Putin, leaving open the threat of broader measures targeting Russia™s energy and financial sectors.

Copy Source : Bloomberg

U.S. Stocks Decline as Financial, Technology Shares Lead Drop

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Banks and technology companies led U.S. stocks lower for the fourth time in five days, as a midmorning recovery fizzled and investors resumed a rotation out of the bull market™s biggest winners.

Citigroup Inc. dropped the most since 2012 after its capital plan failed Federal Reserve stress tests. Accenture Plc. fell 6.8 percent after saying it anticipates a continued œchallenging environment for its business. GameStop Corp. lost 6.8 percent after its earnings forecast trailed analysts™ estimates. Baxter International Inc. jumped 5.5 percent after saying it will split into two companies.

The Standard & Poor™s 500 Index declined 0.3 percent to 1,847.40 at 12:18 p.m. in New York, after rising as much as 0.2 percent earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 13.91 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,255.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index sank 0.6 percent.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, a gauge for U.S. stock volatility also known as VIX, rose 3.6 percent to 15.46. Trading in S&P 500 stocks was 27 percent above the 30-day average during this time of the day.

Copy Source: Bloomberg         

U.S. Stocks Drop as Investors Sell Drugmaker Shares

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U.S. stocks fell, extending a decline from the last hour of yesterday™s session, as investors sold health-care stocks that have led gains in the last year, Internet companies retreated and Citigroup Inc. fell 5 percent.

The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 1 percent, extending a decline that began on March 19 to 4.6 percent. The S&P 500 dropped 0.5 percent to 1,843.55 at 9:44 a.m. in New York. The slide erased the gauge™s gain for the year.

The S&P 500 yesterday slid 0.7 percent after President Barack Obama warned that the crisis in Ukraine may escalate. Losses extended in the last hour as investors sold companies that have led the bull market.

Gauges of technology stocks, drugmakers, and consumer and industrial companies all fell 0.7 percent in the final 60 minutes of trading yesterday. About half of the day™s 6.5 percent gain in the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index occurred during the period, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Investors continued to sell riskier assets, as gauges of Internet and biotechnology shares sank. The S&P 500 closed at its session low, erasing nine points in the final hour.

Source : Bloomberg

Nikkei Futures Fall on Yen Gains as Citigroup Slips After Market

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Japanese index futures declined with U.S. stocks as the yen traded near a one-week high amid concern western nations will step up pressure on Russia, while crude oil weakened. Citigroup Inc. dropped in extended trading after failing the Federal Reserve™s stress test for banks.

Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures fell 0.4 percent in Chicago as the Standard & Poor™s 500 Index closed 0.7 percent lower after losses accelerated in the last hour of trading. Japan™s currency was little changed at 102.08 per dollar by 6:44 a.m. in Tokyo following yesterday™s 0.2 percent gain. Citigroup lost more than 5 percent after hours, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. rose after saying they™ll boost dividends. Oil in New York jumped 1.1 percent as gold fell.

U.S. stocks erased earlier gains fueled by better-than-estimated durable goods data after President Barack Obama said there were consequences for being complacent over Russia™s annexation of Crimea. Citigroup™s capital plan was among five that failed the Fed™s tests. Bank of America increased its quarterly payout after the Fed™s statement, which said the lender -- along with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. -- only passed after cutting requests for buybacks and dividends.

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