European stocks close

European stocks fell from a one-week high as Fitch Ratings said the European Central Bank must do more to prevent debt crisis from spreading and a report indicated the German economy is shrinking.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.4 percent to 249.93 at the close of trading, after earlier climbing as much as 0.3 percent. The gauge has still advanced 2.2 percent this year as economic reports around the world added to optimism the global economy can withstand the euro area’s debt crisis.

S&P 500 1,290 -2.26 -0.17%, NASDAQ 2,706 +3.69 +0.14%, Dow 12,428 -34.06 -0.27%

Metro AG (MEO), Germany’s largest retailer, declined 3.3 percent to 28.36 euros after Benjamin Peters, an analyst at UBS AG, cut the stock to “sell” from “neutral.” The shares “will come under increasing pressure from earnings downgrades,” Peters wrote in a report.

Nestle SA, the world’s biggest food company, fell 1.7 percent to 53.85 Swiss francs after Bank of America Corp. downgraded the stock to “neutral” from “buy.”

Aryzta AG (ARYN), a Swiss supplier of bakery products to supermarkets and restaurants, tumbled 6.8 percent to 42.8 francs after it sold 4.25 million new shares at 41 francs each. That was the largest drop since April 2009 and the worst performance in the Stoxx 600 today.

Italian banks advanced today, with Banca Popolare di Milano Scarl (PMI) jumping 9.4 percent to 29.4 euro cents. Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA (BMPS) increased 8.1 percent to 21.3 euro cents. UniCredit SpA (UCG) gained 5.5 percent to 2.56 euros as the shares were raised to “outperform” from “underperform” by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analysts, who cited the stock’s “now attractive” valuation. The bank was also upgraded to “neutral” from “reduce” by WestLB