June 22 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks fell as the World Bank said the global recession will be deeper than it predicted in March. Asian shares advanced, while U.S. index futures slid. Total SA slipped 1.3 percent as oil traded below $70 a barrel on speculation weak demand will increase U.S. gasoline stockpiles. Raw-material producers climbed after Xstrata Plc proposed a “merger of equals” with Anglo American Plc. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 0.6 percent at 8:17 a.m. in London. The gauge last week posted the first weekly drop since May 15 on speculation share prices had outpaced the outlook for economic growth after a three-month rally sent valuations up to 25.4 times earnings, the highest level since 2004, according to weekly data compiled by Bloomberg. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.7 percent today, led by automakers and financial companies. Sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers increased to minus 13.2 points compared with a record low of minus 66 three months ago, a government survey showed. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.3 percent after earlier gaining 0.4 percent. The World Bank forecast the global economy will contract 2.9 percent this year in a report today. That compares with a prior estimate of a 1.7 percent decline. Growth is expected to return next year with a 2 percent expansion, lower than the 2.3 percent prediction about three months ago. ECB, Ifo European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said the bank is likely to keep interest rates steady for at least the rest of the year. The ECB won’t substantially alter its assessment of the economic outlook and “therefore I also don’t see a likelihood for rate changes,” Nowotny, who heads Austria’s central bank, said in an interview in Vienna on June 19. In Germany, the Ifo institute index released at 10 a.m. is expected to show business confidence rose for a third month in June. U.K. home sellers lowered asking prices in June for the first time in five months as banks scaled back lending, according to a report by Rightmove Plc. Total slipped 1.3 percent to 38.68 euros. Crude for July delivery fell as much as 0.7 percent to $69.05 in New York. Xstrata, the world’s fourth-largest copper producer, added 1 percent to 687.5 pence, while Anglo American surged 9.9 percent to 1,783 pence. The Swiss mining company yesterday proposed a merger with Anglo American that it said would lead to “substantial” cost savings. The combined company would have sales of more than $54 billion, based on 2008 figures, and produce commodities including copper, coal, iron ore and zinc. Porsche, Daimler Porsche SE added 1.1 percent to 44.49 euros after Bild am Sonntag reported Daimler may be interested in acquiring a stake in Porsche, without saying where it got the information. A stake may help Daimler cooperate with Volkswagen AG on Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz A- and B-Class models, the newspaper said. Daimler and Porsche earlier dismissed a report in Manager Magazin about potential talks over a Daimler investment as “speculation.” Daimler gained 0.4 percent to 24.53 euros. Separately, Porsche may have its request for a 1.75 billion-euro ($2.4 billion) state loan rejected by the German government, the Financial Times reported, citing a senior government official.

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