European stock fell

European stocks dropped, paring the fourth weekly gain for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, as investors awaited data that may show U.S. manufacturing growth slowed. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares fell.

The Stoxx 600 slipped 0.2 percent to 321.7 at 10:54 a.m. in London. The gauge has climbed 0.5 percent this week, yesterday closing at its highest level since May 2008, as the Federal Reserve refrained from paring stimulus measures and as companies from BNP Paribas SA to Volkswagen AG reported better-than-forecast profit.

A release may show the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index fell to 55 last month from September’s 56.2 that was the strongest since April 2011. Readings above 50 indicate expansion. The report would follow data from China, where the official manufacturing gauge rose more than forecast to an 18-month high. A Chinese PMI from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics also topped projections.

Investors are watching data to gauge the health of the U.S. economy after the Federal Reserve this week said it needs to see more evidence of sustained improvement before slowing the pace of its monthly bond purchases.

RBS fell 5.4 percent to 347.7 pence. Britain’s biggest publicly owned lender said it will write down as much as 4.5 billion pounds ($7.2 billion) in the fourth quarter after transferring 38.3 billion pounds of its riskiest loans to an internal bad bank. RBS (RBS) also posted a net loss of 828 million pounds in the third quarter.

Renault dropped 5.6 percent to 60.88 euros, its biggest retreat since June 20. Nissan lowered its full-year profit forecast by 15 percent. Japan’s second-biggest carmaker expects to post net income of 355 billion yen ($3.6 billion) in the year ending March, compared with its previous estimate of 420 billion yen and the average projection of 440.3 billion yen.

Meggitt Plc tumbled 10 percent to 515.5 pence, its largest decline since April 2009. The world’s biggest provider of wheels and brakes for military aircraft cut its full-year sales forecast, citing short-term production problems at a unit. Meggitt predicted sales growth in low single digits, compared with a previous forecast for a mid-single-digit increase.

ASM International NV, which makes machines used to turn silicon wafers into chips, rose 3 percent to 25.05 euros after reporting third-quarter sales of 116.4 million euros ($158 million). The surpassed the 110.4 million euros forecast on average by analysts.

FTSE 100 6,725.48 -5.95 -0.09%

CAC 40 4,285.61 -14.28 -0.33%

DAX 9,021.75 -12.17 -0.13%