European stocks retreated

European stocks retreated as mining companies fell after a report showed Chinese imports unexpectedly slumped last month. U.S. index futures also dropped, while Asian shares climbed.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.4 percent to 333.89 at 10:31 a.m. in London, erasing a gain of as much as 0.6 percent. The benchmark has fallen 1.6 percent from a six-year high on April 4 as investors sold technology stocks and the shares with the highest valuations. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures also slipped 0.3 percent today. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.6 percent.

In China, a report showed that imports slid 11 percent in March. The median economist estimate had called for a gain of 3.9 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

In the U.S., a Labor Department report at 8:30 a.m. in Washington will probably show that jobless claims in the world’s biggest economy in the week ended April 5 fell to 320,000, according to the median estimate of economists.

A gauge of commodity producers declined 0.9 percent.

Tryg A/S lost 4.5 percent after reporting first-quarter net income that missed analysts’ estimates.

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA added 3.4 percent as the world’s largest luxury-goods company posted the fastest growth in fashion and leather-goods sales in two years.

FTSE 100 6,637.38 +1.77 +0.03%

CAC 40 4,424.25 -18.43 -0.41%

DAX 9,470.75 -35.60 -0.37%