Major stock indexes in Europe fell

European (SXXP) stocks declined, extending the Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s biggest weekly drop in four months, as Cypriot lawmakers begin a debate to unlock bailout funds and prevent a financial collapse.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.3 percent to 293.63 at 10:04 a.m. in London.

In Germany, business confidence unexpectedly fell in March from a 10-month high. The Ifo institute in Munich said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, fell to 106.7 this month from 107.4 in February. That’s the first drop in five months. Economists predicted a gain to 107.8.

MAN lost 4.4 percent to 83.24 euros. VW, Europe’s largest carmaker, will offer other holders of MAN stock 80.89 euros per share in a bid for full control of the company. VW, which already owns 75.03 percent of the Munich-based company’s voting rights, will set the final cash offer after it receives valuation reports from auditors, MAN said yesterday.

Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) slid 3.9 percent to 1,442 pence. HSBC Holdings Plc. cuts its recommendation on the U.K.-based oil and gas engineering company to underweight, similar to a sell rating, from neutral, citing “a rapid and radical change in business strategy” as the company enters new integrated energy services and offshore markets. HSBC also questioned the sustainability of Petrofac’s onshore engineering and construction margins beyond 2013.

Hochtief AG, Germany’s largest builder, slid 3.9 percent to 52.18 euros. Leighton Holdings Ltd. Chairman Stephen Johns and two non-executive directors resigned from the board of Australia’s largest construction company, citing a dispute with its controlling shareholder Hochtief.

To date:

FTSE 100 6,386.12 -2.43 -0.04%

CAC 40 3,755.6 -19.25 -0.51%

DAX 7,910.2 -22.31 -0.28%