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European stocks were little changed, with equities posting their biggest monthly gain since July, as Ukraine accused Russia of stoking tension on its territory and data showed U.S. fourth-quarter economic growth slowed more than estimated.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.1 percent to 337.55. The benchmark gauge rallied 4.7 percent in February as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen pledged to follow her predecessor Ben S. Bernanke’s policy on economic stimulus. She told Congress any reduction in bond buying will be made in measured steps, based on economic data. The Fed has cut the size of the monthly purchases to $65 billion from $85 billion.

Lawmakers in Kiev approved Turchynov’s call for a session by the United Nations Security Council even as armed troops occupied Crimea’s main airport in Simferopol. The Russian involvement has fueled speculation of a partition of Ukraine between Russian-speaking and Ukrainian-speaking regions. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk warned parliament of the growing threat of an economic collapse.

Crimea is the latest flash point in a violent conflict since November that led to the departure of Viktor Yanukovych as Ukraine’s president. At the core of the unrest is Ukraine’s future itself. Yanukovych chose ties with Russia, abandoning a closer association with the European Union that his detractors, who now run the interim government, favor.

The U.S. economy expanded at a slower pace in the fourth quarter than previously estimated. Gross domestic product grew at a 2.4 percent annualized rate from October through December, compared with the 3.2 percent gain estimated last month, revised figures from the Commerce Department showed. The median forecast called for a 2.5 percent increase.

A report from the National Association of Realtors at 10 a.m. New York time may show that contracts to buy previously owned homes rose in January for the first time in eight months. A gauge of pending house sales increased 1.8 percent last month, after dropping in December by the most since May 2010.

National benchmark indexes gained in 13 of the 18 western-European markets.

FTSE 100 6,809.7 -0.57 -0.01% CAC 40 4,408.08 +11.69 +0.27% DAX 9,692.08 +103.75 +1.08%

Erste Group Bank dropped 10 percent to 25.71 euros. Austria’s biggest bank make provisions for bad loans and said it expects operating profit to miss estimates this year.

Pearson fell 6 percent to 1,012 pence, its lowest price since January 2011. Adjusted operating profit fell 21 percent to 736 million pounds ($1.23 billion) in 2013. Sales rose 2.3 percent to 5.18 billion pounds, missing the 5.8 billion-pound estimate by analysts.

Bankia SA, the lender whose losses forced Spain to take a European bailout, retreated 4.3 percent to 1.51 euros. Spain sold 7.5 percent of Bankia to start recovering 22.4 billion euros ($30.7 billion) provided to recapitalize the bank.

Andritz AG added 5.7 percent to 45.42 euros. The world’s second-biggest maker of hydro-power turbines reported a loss for the fourth quarter of 12.2 million euros, narrower than the 19.8 million-euro loss projected by analysts.

Global markets:

Nikkei 14,841.07 -82.04 -0.55%

Hang Seng 22,836.96 +8.78 +0.04%

Shanghai Composite 2,056.3 +8.95 +0.44%

FTSE 6,810.55 +0.28 0.00%

CAC 4,391.4 -4.99 -0.11%

DAX 9,619.68 +31.35 +0.33%

Crude oil: $101.9 (-0.47%)

Gold: $1331.60 (-0.02%).

European stocks dropped for a third day, paring a monthly gain for the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, as investors awaited U.S. economic reports and weighed the impact of Russian military involvement in the Ukraine conflict. U.S. index futures and Asian shares were little changed.

A U.S. report from the National Association of Realtors at 10 a.m. New York time may show that contracts to buy previously owned homes rose in January for the first time in eight months. A gauge of pending house sales increased 1.8 percent last month, after dropping in December by the most since May 2010, economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted.

Separate data may show the world’s largest economy expanded 2.5 percent in the fourth quarter, slower than a preliminary estimate of 3.2 percent, economists projected. Consumer spending grew 2.9 percent in the last three months of 2013, lower than an earlier estimate of 3.3 percent, they said. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of Consumer Confidence Sentiment will stay at 81.2 in February, in line with a preliminary forecast, according to another survey.

In the U.K., a consumer-confidence index from GfK NOP Ltd. came in at minus 7 this month, the same level as in January, a release showed. That matched the median forecast economists in a Bloomberg News survey.

Erste Group Bank dropped 7.9 percent to 26.38 euros. Austria’s biggest bank expects operating profit to miss estimates this year.

Serco climbed 9 percent to 447.8 pence, its biggest increase since March 5, 2013. The outsourced-services provider appointed Aggreko Plc’s CEO Rupert Soames as its CEO with effect from June. 1. Aggreko lost 3 percent to 1,581 pence.

Old Mutual rose 4.7 percent to 195 pence. Africa’s biggest insurer acquired Intrinsic Financial Services Ltd. for an undisclosed sum. Intrinsic has 3,000 financial advisers and brings a broad distribution network.

FTSE 100 6,802.01 -8.26 -0.12%

CAC 40 4,374.14 -22.25 -0.51%

DAX 9,587.43 -0.90 -0.01%

Asian stocks swung between gains and losses after the yuan posted its steepest one-day loss against the dollar. The regional equity benchmark is on course for its first monthly advance since October.

Nikkei 225 14,841.07 -82.04 -0.55%

S&P/ASX 200 5,404.82 -6.63 -0.12%

Shanghai Composite 2,056.3 +8.95 +0.44%

Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. slipped 1.2 percent as the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland firms listed in Hong Kong fell 0.7 percent.

James Hardie Industries Plc  surged 6.1 percent after the Australian provider of building materials said profit jumped last quarter.

Foster Electric Co. tumbled 12 percent, the largest decline on Japan’s Topix index, as the maker of audio equipment cut its forecast.