“European stocks were little changed, near a two-week high, as a measure of manufacturing and services in the euro area rose more than expected, offsetting Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s slowest profit growth since 2003. U.S. index futures and Asian shares declined.
EasyJet Plc (EZJ) added 4.1 percent after saying fiscal first- quarter sales gained. Logitech International SA slumped 7.5 percent after reporting a third-quarter loss of $195 million. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA plunged 6.1 percent after the Bank of Italy said that the world’s oldest lender hid documents from its regulators.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) retreated 0.1 percent to 287.99 at 11:15 a.m. in London, after earlier sliding as much as 0.4 percent. The equity benchmark has climbed 3 percent this year after U.S. lawmakers agreed on a compromise budget. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures dropped 0.2 percent today, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3 percent.
“It’s back to reality in a way: mixed news on the macroeconomic front, plus Apple, is impacting the equity markets today,” said Francois Savary, who oversees about $8.1 billion as the chief investment officer at Reyl & Cie. in Geneva. “The market wants to see that companies can increase sales and earnings-per-share down the road, and this is the key to sustain the rally.”
The volume of shares changing hands in Stoxx 600 companies today was 30 percent greater than the average of the last 30 days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
