European stocks declined

European stocks declined as Italy’s inconclusive parliamentary election renewed concern that the Mediterranean nation will dilute its austerity program and the region’s sovereign-debt crisis will deepen.

Election results in Rome showed pre-election favorite Pier Luigi Bersani won the lower house by less than a half a point. Silvio Berlusconi, the former premier who has vowed to reverse austerity measures, won a blocking minority in the Senate. An Italian government requires a majority in both houses.

The group headed by Beppo Grillo, who also opposes crisis- fighting measures, got 25 percent support. Berlusconi and Grillo scored about 55 percent of the popular vote. The result may lead President Giorgio Napolitano to install an interim government to write a new election law as the prelude to another vote.

Italian 10-year bond yields climbed 26 basis points, or 0.26 percentage point, to 4.75 percent. That is the yield’s biggest advance since Dec. 10.

Italian stocks were the top 10 decliners on the Stoxx 600 index as UniCredit SpA, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, Banco Popolare SC and Unione di Banche Italiane SCPA all sank more than 7 percent.

Telecom Italia plunged 5.7 percent to 55.8 euro cents, the lowest price since August 1997. Credit-default swaps insuring investors against a default by the Milan-based company climbed 29 basis points to 358, the highest in five months and the biggest same-day move since Jan. 14.

SEB dropped 3.5 percent to 58.94 euros after saying full- year net income was 194.2 million euros ($254 million) last year, missing the average analyst estimate for 206.6 million euros.

BASF lost 1.92 euros to 73.09 euros. Earnings before interest, tax and one-time items increased 18 percent to 1.8 billion euros in the fourth quarter, the company said today. That missed the median analyst estimate of 1.83 billion euros.

FTSE 100 6,268.13 -87.24 -1.37%

CAC 40 3,640.47 -80.86 -2.17%