European stocks were little changed

European stocks were little changed as L’Oreal SA and Nokia Oyj rallied, offsetting worse-than-forecast reports on industrial production in France and Italy. U.S. index futures fell, while Asian shares rose.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.2 percent to 325.68 at 9:55 a.m. in London. The benchmark climbed 0.8 percent last week, posting its first increase in three weeks, as investors bet the Federal Reserve will delay a third cut to bond purchases after U.S. jobs data missed estimates. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slipped 0.2 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.6 percent.

Data showed December industrial production fell 0.3 percent in France and 0.9 percent in Italy, both missing estimates.

L’Oreal gained 4.8 percent to 129.40 euros. Nestle has signaled to the L’Oreal management its intention to reduce its stake in the company, people with knowledge of the matter said. While talks have been on and off for some time, preparations have picked up close to April’s expiry of restrictions on Nestle’s stake imposed by a shareholder agreement with the Bettencourt family, the largest shareholder.

Nokia advanced 3.7 percent to 5.44 euros. The company and HTC Corp. have agreed to collaborate after ending a patent-infringement dispute. HTC will pay royalties to Nokia to end the row, the companies said without disclosing financial terms.

ArcelorMittal slid 1.5 percent to 12.31 euros after Bank of America Corp. cut the world’s biggest steelmaker to neutral from buy, citing “tepid European economic growth.”

FTSE 100 6,579.39 +7.71 +0.12%

CAC 40 4,242.37 +14.19 +0.34%

DAX 9,322.92 +21.00 +0.23%