European stocks were little changed

European stocks were little changed, following a two-week advance, as investors weighed company earnings and awaited data on American services and home sales. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares rose.

Preliminary data at 9:45 a.m. Washington time may show the Markit Economics purchasing managers' index for the services industry fell to 59.8 in July from 61 in the prior month, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. A separate report at 10 a.m. from the National Association of Realtors may show a pending home-sales index climbed 0.5 percent in June following a 6.1 percent gain in May.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its rating on stocks to neutral, the equivalent of hold, for the next three months, saying they are at risk of a brief selloff, according to a quarterly strategy report July 25. The bank also lowered corporate credit to underweight and predicted that U.S. government bond yields will increase.

Aberdeen lost 3.1 percent to 445.1 pence. Europe's biggest publicly traded money manager said assets under management fell 0.6 percent to 322.5 billion pounds ($547.4 billion) in the quarter ended June 30 from the prior three months.

Ryanair rose 4 percent to 7.12 euros. Europe's biggest discount carrier said profit after tax will probably be 620 million euros to 650 million euros for the year through March 2015, up from a previous forecast of 580 million euros to 620 million euros. The Dublin-based airline also said profit after tax for the three months ended June 30 more than doubled to 197 million euros.

Reckitt Benckiser climbed 2.8 percent to 5,210 pence. The spinoff will occur in the next year and will be a U.K.-listed company. Slough, England-based Reckitt Benckiser also reported that sales in the second quarter climbed 4 percent, excluding the pharmaceutical business. That matched analysts' estimates.

FTSE 100 6,801.42 +9.87 +0.15%

CAC 40 4,346.1 +15.55 +0.36%

DAX 9,633.36 -10.65 -0.11%