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By Bloomberg

European stocks were little changed, after rebounding yesterday following a two-week loss, as William Morrison Supermarkets Plc and Metro AG climbed, offsetting a decline in oil and gas companies.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.1 percent to 340.3 at 8:58 a.m. in London. Stocks rose yesterday, with Greek equities posting the biggest gain of 18 western-European markets after hitting an oversold level.

The broad European benchmark gauge fell 1 percent last week for a second weekly drop, posting its worst start to a year since 2008. It fell 3.7 percent from an almost seven-year high reached Dec. 5 through Jan. 9 amid a plunge in oil prices and Greek equities before the nation holds an election on Jan. 25.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.1 percent today, after the underlying index slid 0.8 percent yesterday. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.1 percent.

Retailers posted the biggest gain out of 19 groups in the Stoxx 600, climbing 1.3 percent.

William Morrison advanced 4.4 percent. The grocer said it will start a search for a new chief executive officer to replace Dalton Philips, who will step down at the end of the year. It also said sales at stores open at least a year fell 3.1 percent, excluding fuel, in the six weeks ended Jan. 4. That beat the median estimate of analysts for a 4 percent drop.

Metro added 3.8 percent. The operator of Germany’s Kaufhof department stores reported an increase in first-quarter adjusted revenue as all divisions had better same-store sales in December.

Tesco Plc also rose, advancing 2.6 percent. J Sainsbury Plc and Ocado Group Plc increased more than 2 percent.

Sika Advances

Sika AG climbed 3.2 percent after the Swiss adhesives maker reported higher full-year sales on growth in emerging markets. Revenue rose 8.3 percent to 5.57 billion Swiss francs ($5.5 billion) in 2014. That compares with the 5.54-billion franc average of analysts’ estimates.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA led a gauge of energy stocks 1.1 percent lower, for the worst industry-group performance on the Stoxx 600. Oil extended losses to trade below $45 a barrel amid speculation that U.S. crude stockpiles will increase, exacerbating a global supply glut that’s driven prices to the lowest in more than 5 1/2 years.

Royal Philips NV slid 2.9 percent after the world’s largest lighting manufacturer said production delays at a facility in Cleveland will hurt earnings more than previously forecast.

Geberit AG declined 1.7 percent after saying fourth-quarter sales growth adjusted for currency effects was 2.9 percent. That missed analyst projections of 4.2 percent and shows a slowdown throughout the year, according to Berenberg Bank.