Stocks: Thursday's review

Japanese stocks fell after a report showed the nation’s economy shrank more than estimated in the first quarter and utilities dropped after the Prime Minister said Japan will debate overhauling the energy industry.
 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (8306), Japan’s largest bank by market value, declined 2.1 percent. Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant damaged in the record earthquake in March, tumbled 8 percent. Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., a chip equipment maker, plunged 5.3 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its rating on chipmaker Intel Corp. (INTC)

European stocks rose for a second day as industrial stocks led gains on the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled that interest rates will remain low.
Glencore International Plc was unchanged on its first day of trading in London after it sold $10 billion of stock in its initial public offering. BP Plc (BP/) climbed 1.6 percent as BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research advised buying the shares. Pandora A/S, the Danish maker of jewelry, slumped 22 percent after saying it has lifted prices globally for the first time in its history because of the rising cost of silver and gold.

U.S. stocks traded little changed as reports on home sales, leading indicators and manufacturing trailed estimates, tempering optimism in the economy triggered by a bigger-than-forecast drop in jobless claims.
Intel Corp. (INTC), KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) and Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) slumped at least 1.7 percent as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut their ratings, citing increased competition from tablet computers and excess supply. Big Lots Inc. (BIG) tumbled 9.9 percent after the Wall Street Journal reported that the discount retailer won’t sell itself. LinkedIn Corp., the largest professional-networking website, more than doubled in the first day of trading after its initial public offering.