March 27 (Bloomberg) -- Treasuries rose, trimming the biggest monthly drop in more than a year, and the dollar strengthened against most peers before a report forecast to show U.S. consumer confidence slipped this month. European stocks, U.S. equity futures and commodities were little changed. Ten-year Treasury note yields lost two basis points to 2.23 percent, trimming the monthly gain to 25 basis points. The dollar added 0.2 percent to $1.3340 per euro as it strengthened against 10 of 16 major peers. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures swung between gains and losses after the benchmark gauge closed at the highest level in almost four years. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average erased losses from last year's earthquake. The S&P GSCI Index of commodities was little changed. Conference Board data may show its consumer-confidence index was 70.1 this month, after reaching a one-year high of 70.8 in February, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled yesterday he will continue to stimulate the economy. An International Monetary Fund official said today the group expects "modest growth" in the U.S. and a mild recession in Europe. Two-year Treasury note yields fell less than one basis point to 0.34 percent. Thirty-year rates lost one point to 3.33 percent. Among U.S. stocks, Bank of America Corp. slipped 0.8 percent after its shares were downgraded by Robert W. Baird & Co. Apollo Group Inc., the biggest U.S. for-profit college company, slumped 6 percent amid concern over new enrollments. Lennar Corp., the third-largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue, advanced 2.5 percent as earnings exceeded projections. Home Prices Home prices in 20 U.S. cities dropped at a slower pace in January, pointing to stabilization in the real estate market. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities fell 3.8 percent from a year earlier, matching the median forecast of 32 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, after decreasing 4.1 percent in December, a report from the group showed today in New York. In Europe, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc rallied 4.5 percent after two people with knowledge of the situation said the U.K. government held talks with investors, including Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, about a sale of part of its stake. The U.K. said it will only sell its majority holding in RBS when it has obtained maximum value for taxpayers. Buy Stakes Finmeccanica SpA surged 10 percent as Il Sole 24 Ore said Hitachi Ltd. is in talks to buy stakes in Ansaldobreda SpA and Ansaldo STS SpA from Italy's biggest arms company. Finmeccanica is scheduled to report earnings after the close of trading today. Hochtief AG fell 5.4 percent as trading in its Australian subsidiary, Leighton Holdings Ltd., was halted before a quarterly review. A measure of French sentiment jumped to 87 in March from 82 in February, national statistics office Insee reported in Paris today. That's the highest since July. Economists forecast an unchanged reading, the median of 16 estimates in a Bloomberg survey showed. The pound strengthened against 12 of 16 major peers and the yield on the 10-year gilt lost five basis points to 2.28 percent. Bank of England policy maker David Miles said yesterday that spare industrial capacity will subdue domestically generated inflation, boosting the case for further bond purchases. IMF Forecasts The IMF cut in January its forecast for the global economy this year to 3.3 percent growth, with the U.S. expanding 1.8 percent and the euro area contracting 0.5 percent. "We've not changed the assessment of the baseline of the world economy," David Lipton, first deputy managing director of the IMF, said in Seoul today. "We expect modest growth in the U.S., mild recession in Europe and a continuation of a comfortable level of growth in Asia with a soft landing in China."

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