Stocks: Tuesday’s review

European stocks dropped, paring the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s biggest two-day rally since February, as Spanish bond yields rose.

The yield on Spain’s 10-year bonds climbed 10 basis points to 5.45 percent. The nation’s debt will reach 79.8 percent of gross domestic product this year, up from 68.5 percent last year, the government said in its budget today.

National benchmark indexes fell in every western-European market apart from Denmark and Iceland. France’s CAC 40 Index lost 1.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index slipped 0.6 percent. Germany’s DAX Index slid 1.1 percent. Spain’s IBEX posted the largest decline, falling 2.7 percent.

Popolare di Milano tumbled 6.6 percent to 38.2 euro cents. A gauge of lenders contributed the most to the Stoxx 600’s retreat today. Banco Santander SA, Spain’s largest lender, retreated 4 percent to 5.55 euros. Intesa Sanpaolo SpA dropped 4.7 percent to 1.27 euros and UniCredit SpA, Italy’s biggest bank, decreased 5 percent to 3.52 euros.

Ferrovial, the builder and airport operator, slumped 6.4 percent to 8.24 euros, its lowest price since May 2010, after Spain’s government capped corporate-tax deductions on financial costs to 30 percent of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Lonza gained 1.6 percent to 47.85 Swiss francs after it named Ridinger, who has worked at BASE SE and Henkel AG, as chief executive officer with effect from May 1.

UCB SA gained 1.5 percent to 34.33 euros. The Belgian drugmaker said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its Neupro medicine for the treatment of advanced stage idiopathic Parkinson’s disease.

Actelion Ltd., Switzerland’s largest biotechnology company, increased 2.7 percent to 34.46 francs as Credit Suisse Group AG raised the stock to outperform, the equivalent of buy, from neutral.

U.S. stocks fell, a day after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose to the highest level since 2008, as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting damped expectations for more monetary stimulus.

Equities extended losses as the minutes of the March 13 meeting showed a decreased urgency to add monetary stimulus. The Fed indicated that it is holding off on increasing monetary accommodation unless the U.S. economic expansion falters or prices rise at a rate slower than its 2 percent target. The central bank last month affirmed its plan, first announced in January, to hold interest rates near zero through late 2014.

Stocks fell earlier as figures from the Commerce Department showed factory bookings in February rose 1.3 percent after a revised 1.1 percent decline in January. The median of 60 economists’ projections called for a 1.5 percent advance. Orders excluding transportation equipment increased by the most in five months.

Dow   13,199.55     -64.94 -0.49%, Nasdaq       3,113.57       -6.13   -0.20%, S&P 500    1,413.31       -5.73       -0.40%

Netflix decreased 1.1 percent to $112.74 after Barclays cut its rating from overweight to equalweight, citing competitive threats. The rating means the stock is expected to perform in line with its sector over a 12-month period.

Apple advanced 1.8 percent to $629.91. The world’s most valuable company could surge to $1,000 by 2014, Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray Cos., said in a note to clients today. He raised his 12-month price target to $910 from $718. Brian White, an analyst at Topeka Capital Markets, yesterday set an estimate of $1,001.

Urban Outfitters Inc. gained 2.3 percent. The operator of its namesake, Anthropologie and Free People brands stores said same-store sales in the first quarter climbed, exceeding analysts’ estimates. The stock was raised to neutral from sell at Citigroup Inc.