European stocks close

European stocks retreated, following their biggest weekly gain in a month, as China’s economy grew at a slower pace than estimated and a gauge of manufacturing in the New York area missed forecasts.

In China, gross domestic product rose 7.7 percent in the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said in Beijing. That compared with the 8 percent median forecast by analysts in a survey and the 7.9 percent pace in the fourth quarter. The country’s industrial production increased in March at a slower rate than economists had estimated, while retail-sales growth matched forecasts.

In the U.S., the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index slowed to 3.1 this month from 9.2 in March. Economists in a survey had forecast it would drop to 7. Readings greater than zero mean that activity increased.

National benchmark indexes fell in all of the 18 western- European (SXXP) markets. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and France’s CAC 40 Index slid 0.6 percent, while Germany’s DAX Index lost 0.5 percent.

Randgold plunged 8.3 percent to 4,549 pence and Fresnillo Plc, the biggest primary silver producer, sank 15 percent to 1,078 pence. Silver slumped 10 percent in London trading. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, slid 3.7 percent to 1,822 pence and Rio Tinto Group, the second biggest, slipped 3.5 percent to 2,973 pence.

Publicis dropped 5.2 percent to 51.56 euros after the world’s third-biggest advertising company called 2013 a difficult year and said first-quarter sales rose 1.3 percent to 1.56 billion euros ($2 billion). The revenue growth missed consensus estimates, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and CA Cheuvreux said in notes to investors.

Accor SA declined 4.2 percent to 25.62 euros after Credit Suisse Group AG downgraded Europe’s largest hotel operator to underperform, the equivalent of sell, from outperform, citing the increasing risk of disappointing first-quarter earnings.