By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Stocks across Europe pulled back Thursday, easing away from positive territory carved out after dovish monetary-policy signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Iberdrola SA was among the losers, while LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA lifted a handful of retailers.
The Stoxx Europe 600 XX:SXXP -0.01% turned lower by 0.2% to 334.53, but had been up by as much as 0.6%.
Among decliners, Iberdrola SA ES:IBE -3.28% shares dropped 3.3% after coming off a trading halt. Spanish nationalized lender Bankia ES:BKIA -0.14% said it sold its 4.9% stake in the power company, part of a larger divestment plan for the bank. Bankia shares fell 0.3%. Separately, Iberdrola said net profit fell 3% in the first nine months of the year.
Most retail stocks held gains after sales updates. Shares of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA FR:MC +4.21% remained a stand-out with a rise of 4%. The gain came after the luxury-goods industry bellwether posted a 6% increase in first-quarter sales, excluding currency fluctuations and acquisitions.
Shares of Christian Dior SA FR:CDI +2.71% were up 2.7%, and Gucci parent Kering SA FR:KER +2.07% picked up 1.7%, though that gain was pared from a 4.9% rise.
In London, shares of Marks and Spencer Group PLC UK:MKS -1.69% dropped 2.4%, giving up an earlier rise of 3.3%. The company said fourth-quarter sales increased by 1.9%. Marks and Spencer shares had been among the best-performing on the FTSE 100 UK:UKX +0.37% . The U.K. index recovered some ground and rose 0.2% to 6,650.24.
As expected, the Bank of England said Thursday it is keeping the size of its bond-buying program unchanged and holding its key lending rate at a record low of 0.5%, where it has stood since March 2009. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee maintained its asset purchases, the centerpiece of its quantitative-easing strategy, at 375 billion pounds ($629 billion).
European stocks overall had earlier tracked a rise on Wall Street after minutes from the Fed’s March meeting were released. The minutes suggested policy makers want to stay accommodative, given downward revisions in economic-growth projections and concerns about low inflation. Stock futures pointed to a weaker Wall Street start, though, in choppy action.
Equities in Asia, particularly in Hong Kong and Shanghai, finished higher despite weak trade data from China . The markets found strength after China said it plans to widen access to markets, including for overseas investors.
Choppy action was also marking some trade in Europe. Germany’s DAX 30 DX:DAX +0.23% flip-flopped, last moving up 0.2% to 9,497.82, and France’s CAC 40 FR:PX1 +0.11% eased 0.1% to 4,435.94. Shares of Carrefour SA FR:CA -0.07% fell 0.2% following the French retailer’s report that first-quarter sales fell nearly 4%, hurt in part by foreign-exchange losses.
Meanwhile, Greece’s first bond sale since its 2010 bailout will raise 3 billion euros ($4.15 billion) at a yield of 4.95%, according to media reports. Demand came in at more than €20 billion, helping push the yield lower than the level expected by Greek officials ahead of the sale.
