European stocks were little changed as disappointing earnings from Fiat SpA to Societe Generale SA offset a rally in Credit Agricole SA after its profit surged, while investors watched the crisis in Ukraine.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed little changed at 336.03. The benchmark equity gauge has fallen 0.9% from a six-year high on April 4 as violence between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists escalated.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday that plans by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine’s Donetsk region to hold a May 11 referendum on secession were illegal and contrived. He said his country is ready to impose sanctions should Russia fail to withdraw its support for separatists.
Russian President Vladimir Putin today called for the referendum to be postponed and said the Ukrainian presidential vote was a move in the right direction.
Ukrainian acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said this week that four soldiers and about 30 pro-Russian separatists were killed in a May 5 clash. The government began an assault against pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk on April 13, after gunmen seized buildings and took several dozen captives. Russia has about 40,000 troops along the Ukrainian border, according to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Fiat tumbled 12%, the most since August 2011 after saying earnings before interest, taxes and one-time items fell to 622 million euros ($865 million) in the first quarter, trailing the 854 million euros estimated by analysts
Societe Generale slid 0.8%. Cie. de Saint-Gobain SA lost 3.3% after investor Wendel SA said it will cut its stake in Europe’s biggest building-materials supplier.
Credit Agricole (ACA) gained the most in almost a year after saying first-quarter profit surged 85%.
Henkel AG advanced the most since November 2010 after reporting better-than-estimated earnings.
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