Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

European stocks fell from a seven-year high as declines in energy companies and automakers outweighed Axa SA’s advance.

Eni SpA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc led oil companies lower before U.S. government data forecast to show crude stockpiles grew. Auto-related stocks posted the worst performance of the 19 industry groups on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Valeo SA slid 1.7 percent after reporting lower-than-expected full-year operating profit. Continental AG retreated 2.4 percent.

The Stoxx 600 slipped 0.2 percent to 386.44 at 2:02 p.m. in London. The equity gauge rose 0.6 percent on Tuesday, pushing its gains this year to 13 percent, as Greece reached a bailout deal and the Federal Reserve pledged patience on raising interest rates. The Greek ASE Index declined 1.6 percent today, for the biggest drop among 18 western-European markets.

“It’s not a real decline; it is more a flattening or stabilization of the high levels which we have recently reached,” said Christian Stocker, a strategist at UniCredit Bank AG in Munich. “We have decreasing tensions with the Greek problem and now the market is looking for new positive drivers, but we do not really have any, so I expect more or less a breather in the next few days and some consolidation moves.”

Among stocks moving on corporate news, Axa advanced 2.9 percent. France’s largest insurer posted a 12 percent jump in full-year profit, buoyed by higher earnings at its life and savings division.

A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S rallied 9 percent after saying it will divest its stake in Danske Bank A/S as it focuses on developing its oil and shipping businesses.

Kuehne & Nagel International AG gained 2 percent. The world’s biggest sea-freight forwarder raised its dividend after its overland shipping activities returned to profit.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies before lawmakers for a second day at 10 a.m. in Washington, after saying yesterday that an interest-rate increase isn’t imminent. Investors will also watch for a U.S. report on new-home sales, which economists forecast will show purchases declined to a 470,000 annualized pace in January.