EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Fall From Six-year High; HSBC Weighs

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets slipped from a six-year high on Monday, with markets mirroring a weak trading session in Asia, where the mood was dented by concerns about the Chinese property market. The euro, meanwhile, advanced after better-than-expected German business-confidence data.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index dropped 0.3% to 335.22 after closing at the highest level since January 2008 on Friday.

Among notable movers, shares of Volkswagen AG slumped 6.3% after the German car maker late Friday offered to buy out minority shareholders in Scania AB for more than $9 billion. Scania shares surged 31%. The Swedish company said late Sunday it decided to appoint an independent committee to evaluate the Volkswagen offer.

Analysts at Barclays lifted the rating on Scania to equal weight from underweight after the buyout offer. J.P. Morgan Cazenove also lifted Scania to neutral from underweight.

Shares of PostNL NV slid 16%, after the Dutch mail-service firm reported a full-year loss that was wider than expected.

Banking heavyweight HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBC) dropped 3.7% after reporting full-year earnings that missed expectations.

On a more upbeat note, shares of Bunzl PLC picked up 4.3% after the distribution and outsourcing company reported an 8% rise in 2013 earnings per share.

More broadly, the negative trading mood came after a weak session in Asia, where concerns over the Chinese property market dampened the investing mood. The Shanghai Composite closed 1.7% lower after local media reported that a medium-sized bank has tightened its financing to property developers.

European stock markets briefly moved into positive territory in midmorning trade after data showed German business confidence brightened for a fourth straight month in February. The Ifo business-climate survey climbed to a better-than-expected 111.3, from 110.6 in January. The euro (EURUSD) advanced after the data and traded at $1.3759, from $1.3737 late Friday.

Germany's DAX 30 index gave up 0.3% to 9,631.23, weighed by the sharp loss for Volkswagen.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index lost 0.5% to 6,803.61, and France's CAC 40 index fell 0.1% to 4,376.50.

Elsewhere, Spain's IBEX 35 index climbed 0.7% to 10,136.30, after Moody's Investors Service late Friday lifted the country's credit rating to Baa2 from Baa3 with a positive outlook. The ratings company said Spain has rebalanced its economy toward a more sustainable growth model and improved its funding conditions since the height of the euro-zone debt crisis in mid-2012.

Stocks in Ukraine rallied, with the UX Index jumping 10.5% to 1,031.82, according to the Ukrainian Exchange website. The gain came after parliament members over the weekend voted to remove President Viktor Yanukovych after he had signed a deal with the opposition to resolve the recent political conflict in the country.

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