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European stocks were little changed, after the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index yesterday extended its highest level since June 2008.

National benchmark indexes retreated in 12 of the 18 western-European markets. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slipped 0.1 percent, Germany's DAX Index added 0.1 percent, while France's CAC 40 lost 0.1 percent.

Zurich Insurance lost 3.3 percent to 261.30 Swiss francs after Switzerland's biggest insurer reported a 7 percent decline in first-quarter net income to $1.06 billion. That missed the $1.14 billion average estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

Suedzucker tumbled 6.7 percent to 27.34 euros after Europe's largest sugar producer forecast that full-year operating profit will fall "significantly" to about 825 million euros.

Vivendi SA dropped 2.7 percent to 15.30 euros after Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) was said to have shelved a plan to buy back shares held by its French parent amid a disagreement on price. The world's largest video-game publisher planned to buy at least part of Vivendi's stake as recently as last month, people with knowledge of the talks said. Vivendi, which has a 61 percent Activision holding valued at more than $10 billion, is still exploring how to extract cash from its stake, including a possible dividend recapitalization, one of the people said.

3i Group Plc lost 4.8 percent to 345.8 pence after the U.K.'s largest publicly traded private-equity firm reported a net value of its assets of 311 pence a share for the full year. That missed the 315 pence to 325 pence estimate of Iain Scouller, an analyst at Oriel Securities Ltd. in London who rates the stock a sell. The shares have still surged 59 percent so far this year.

Richemont jumped 7.6 percent to 88.80 francs after the owner of the Cartier brand reported full-year net income of 2.01 billion euros ($2.58 billion), beating analyst estimates for 1.96 billion euros. The company also proposed a dividend of 1 franc, topping forecasts.

U.S. stock futures are mixed as more Americans than projected filed applications for jobless benefits last week and starts of new homes fell in April.

Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) fell after the world's largest retailer forecast second-quarter profit that was less than analysts estimated.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei 15,037.24 -58.79 -0.39%

Hang Seng 23,082.68 +38.44 +0.17%

Shanghai Composite 2,251.81 +27.01 +1.21%

FTSE 6,698.66 +5.11 +0.08%

CAC 3,964.77 -17.46 -0.44%

DAX 8,358.08 -4.34 -0.05%

Crude oil $94.74 -0.47%

Gold $1377.50 -1.34%

Upgrades:

Downgrades:

Other:

Apple (AAPL) initiated at Neutral at Susquehanna

eBay (EBAY) initiated at Buy at Lazard

Amazon.com (AMZN) initiated at Buy at Lazard

Cisco Systems (CSCO) reiterated at Outperform at Oppenheimer, target raised from $24 to $27

Cisco Systems (CSCO) reiterated at Buy at Wunderlich, target raised from $24 to $26

European stocks declined for the first time in three days, sending the Stoxx Europe 600 Index down from its highest level since June 2008. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares fell.

The Stoxx 600 lost 0.2 percent to 307.46 at 10:58 a.m. in London. The benchmark gauge has rallied 9.9 percent so far in 2013, its best start to a year since 1998, bolstered by central-bank monetary stimulus.

In the U.S., a report at 8:30 a.m. in Washington, may show housing starts dropped to a 970,000 annual rate in April, after jumping in March to a 1.04 million pace, according to the median.

Zurich Insurance lost 3.5 percent to 260.90 Swiss francs after Switzerland's biggest insurer reported a 7 percent decline in first-quarter net income to $1.06 billion. That missed the $1.14 billion average estimate. Chief Executive Officer Martin Senn said in a statement that the company is on track to meet its targets as all core businesses delivered "high-quality" operating performance.

Vivendi slid 2.5 percent to 15.32 euros after people with knowledge of the talks said Activision (ATVI) has halted discussions to buy back shares amid a disagreement on price. The world's largest video-game publisher planned to buy at least part of Vivendi's stake as recently as last month, said the people.

Vivendi, which has a 61 percent Activision holding valued at more than $10 billion, is still exploring how to extract cash from its stake, including a possible dividend recapitalization, one of the people said.

Suedzucker AG tumbled 8 percent to 26.97 euros, for the biggest decline on the Stoxx 600, after Europe's largest sugar producer forecast that full-year operating profit will fall "significantly" to about 825 million euros.

Richemont jumped 6.5 percent to 87.95 francs, its highest price since at least 1990, after the the owner of the Cartier brand reported full-year net income of 2.01 billion euros ($2.58 billion), beating analyst estimates for 1.96 billion euros. The company also proposed a dividend of 1 franc, topping forecasts.

FTSE 100 6,696.09 +2.54 +0.04%

CAC 40 3,966.9 -15.33 -0.38%

DAX 8,341.98 -20.44 -0.24%

Most Asian stocks fell as a decline in Japanese banks after forecasting lower earnings offset a report that Japan's economy expanded faster than analysts estimated in the first quarter.

Nikkei 225 15,037.24 -58.79 -0.39%

S&P/ASX 200 5,165.7 -25.96 -0.50%

Shanghai Composite 2,245.43 +20.63 +0.93%

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. sank 2.9 percent, leading Japanese lenders lower.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., South Korea's third-biggest shipbuilder, fell 10 percent as first-quarter profit plunged.

Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co., Japan's second-largest life insurer, jumped 7.3 percent after projecting improved earnings and a stock split.

Change % Change Last

Nikkei 225 15,096.03 +337.61 +2.29%

Hang Seng 23,039.76 +109.48 +0.48%

S&P/ASX 200 5,191.7 -29.29 -0.56%

Shanghai Composite 2,224.8 +7.79 +0.35%

FTSE 100 6,693.55 +7.49 +0.11%

CAC 40 3,982.23 +16.17 +0.41%

DAX 8,362.42 +23.31 +0.28%

DJIA 15,275.70 60.44 0.40%

S&P 500 1,658.78 8.44 0.51%

NASDAQ 3,471.62 9.01 0.26%