EU stocks change as St. James' drops

European stocks were little changed after a report showed manufacturing output unexpectedly contracted in the U.K. in January. U.S. index futures were also little changed, while Asian shares declined.

St. James's Place Plc dropped the most in two weeks after Lloyds Banking Group Plc reduced its stake in the wealthmanagement business. Pirelli & C. SpA fell 3.1 percent after forecasting 2013 earnings that fell short of analysts' estimates. Antofagasta Plc posted its biggest gain in more than two months after the copper producer more than doubled its dividend from a year earlier.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) rose less than 0.1 percent to 295.33 at 9:53 a.m. in London. The gauge has surged 5.6 percent this year as U.S. lawmakers agreed on a compromise federal budget. Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.1 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.4 percent.

"We're getting more cautious about this top of the equity market, and we're beginning to think maybe you should take some risk off the table as we've had a great run for the past four to six months," said Philippe Bonnefoy, who oversees $566 million as chief investment officer at Newscape Capital Group, in an interview on Bloomberg Television. "Analysts have been pretty positive and aggressive on earnings and you've seen earnings downgrades rather than upgrades in many cases."

Of the 268 companies on the Stoxx 600 that have posted quarterly results, 49 percent have beaten analysts' earnings projections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with 52 percent for the previous quarter.

The number of

shares changing hands in Stoxx 600listed companies was 21 percent lower than the average of the past 30 days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Stoxx 600 rallied 2.3 percent last week, its biggest advance in two months, as a report showed the U.S. economy created more jobs than forecast and optimism mounted that central banks will continue to stimulate their economies. The index closed last week it its highest level since June 2008.U.K. manufacturing output slipped 1.5 percent in January after increasing a revised 1.5 percent in December, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. Economists had predicted the measure would be unchanged. Total industrial production in the European Union's third-largest economy declined 1.2 percent in January after gaining 1.1 percent in the previous month, separate figures showed. Economists had called for a 0.1 percent increase.

European Union leaders will meet at a summit in Brussels on March 14-15 to discuss the terms of a bailout for Cyprus. These include the nation's debt sustainability and whether to impose losses on depositors.

St. James's Place lost 1.8 percent to 527 pence after Lloyds sold 102 million shares in the company, leaving the bank with a 37 percent stake. Britain's biggest mortgage lender said it will make a gain of 400 million pounds ($593 million) from the sale. Lloyds climbed 2.2 percent to 51.1 pence. Fresnillo Plc (FRES) dropped 4.7 percent to 1,420 pence, its lowest price in more than seven months. The silver and gold producer posted net income of $736.1 million for 2012, less than the average analyst of $761.4 million.