European stocks were little changed after equities topped a record.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.1 percent to 413.22 at 10:11 a.m. in London. Miners declined for the first time in five days as China’s exports unexpectedly slumped the most in more than a year, raising questions over the durability of global demand. Energy producers rose with oil.
“The market is undecided after a very good run and right now there’s no clear catalyst to push the market any further,” said Ioan Smith, managing director at KCG Europe Ltd. in London. “Miners are down because of China data. As long as investors have ECB’s QE backstop people will continue to buy the market,” Bloomberg reported.
The Stoxx 600 rallied the most since January last week, surpassing an all-time high reached in 2000. Economic data beating forecasts by the most in two years and a push by the European Central Bank to stimulate growth have sent the gauge up 21 percent this year through Friday.
BHP Billiton Ltd. lost 2.2 percent on Monday and Rio Tinto Group fell 1 percent. The biggest iron-ore miners are pursuing a flawed strategy of boosting output into an oversupplied market and should slow growth, the premier of Western Australia said.
Tesco Plc slid 1.7 percent after a Telegraph report that the retailer will announce an impairment charge of 3 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) when it reports results on April 22.
Buyback
Sydbank rose 4.5 percent after the Danish lender said it will buy back shares. MorphoSys AG climbed 5.5 percent as one of its experimental drugs to treat arthritis is entering a second phase of trials. Aviva Plc gained 2.2 percent after Barclays Plc, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. recommended buying the stock.
Nokia Oyj added 3.5 percent, and Alcatel-Lucent SA advanced 2.7 percent. Nokia jumped on Friday after people familiar with the matter said it’s exploring the sale of its maps business. Proceeds could be used for acquisitions, including a takeover of the French rival, Sebastien Sztabowicz, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux has said.
