European Stock-Index Futures Decline; Total, BHP May Retreat

By Adria Cimino

Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- European stock-index futures retreated, indicating the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index may extend a six-year low, and Asian shares fell as the deepening recession curbs earnings. U.S. index futures rose.

TomTom NV, Europe’s largest maker of car-navigation devices, and Akzo Nobel NV, the world’s biggest maker of paints, may be active after reporting fourth-quarter losses. U.S.-traded shares of Total SA slipped as crude oil retreated. BHP Billiton Ltd., Australia’s largest oil producer, dropped in Asia.

Futures on the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the euro region, lost 1.3 percent to 1,974 at 7:38 a.m. in London. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index may decrease 46, according to Cantor Index, a betting firm.

Europe’s broader Stoxx 600 has lost 12 percent this year as companies from Anglo American Plc to Cie. de Saint-Gobain SA fueled concern the worsening recession will wipe out profits. The gauge closed yesterday at the lowest level since March 2003.

“It’s difficult to see anything other than a wholesale shift in trader sentiment being able to reverse the current trend,” Matthew Buckland, a dealer at CMC Markets in London, wrote in a note. “The market still seems intent of taking more value out.”

U.S. stocks fell yesterday, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average to the lowest levels since 1997, as concern the recession will erode earnings offset the government’s pledge to give more capital to banks. Futures on the S&P 500 added 1 percent today.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 1.8 percent to 74.90, poised for the lowest close since August 2003.

$1.1 Trillion

The MSCI World Index of 23 developed countries retreated 52 percent since the start of last year as credit-related losses at financial firms worldwide climbed to $1.1 trillion and Europe, the U.S. and Japan fell into the first simultaneous recessions since World War II.

Confidence among U.S. consumers probably dropped in February to the lowest level on record, signaling spending will slump further as unemployment climbs, economists said before a report today. Separate data may show the drop in home values accelerated in December.

German business confidence may hold steady in February as executives weigh the government’s stimulus program and interest- rate cuts from the European Central Bank, a survey of economists shows. The Ifo institute will release the figures at 10 a.m. in Munich.

TomTom reported a loss after writing down the value of its mapmaking unit Tele Atlas. Akzo Nobel posted a loss after sliding demand for household paints forced the company to book a 1.2 billion-euro ($1.5 billion) writedown on its Imperial Chemical Industries unit.

Total, BHP

American depositary receipts of Total, Europe’s biggest oil refiner, slid 3 percent from the stock’s close in Paris. BHP Billiton lost 1.2 percent in Australia.

Crude oil fell for a third day on speculation that U.S. stockpiles increased for the 19th week in 22 as the recession saps fuel demand. Copper and gold declined in Asian trading.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world’s largest maker of luxury cars, was cut to “underweight” from “overweight” at Morgan Stanley, which said sales may fall by one-third by 2010.

Vestas Wind

Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the largest wind-turbine maker, was cut to “underweight” from “neutral” at JPMorgan, which cited “risks to near-term and long-term industry profitability.”

Norsk Hydro ASA, the world’s fifth-largest aluminum producer, was cut to “underweight” from “overweight” at JPMorgan, which said demand for the metal “remains weak and prices are under pressure.”

KBC Group NV, Belgium’s biggest bank and insurer by market value, may decline. Deutsche Bank AG cut its recommendation on the stock to “sell” from “hold.”

American International Group Inc. got bids from MetLife Inc. and Axa SA for a life-insurance unit spanning more than 50 countries, a sale that may mark the biggest step yet in the firm’s dismantling, said three people familiar with the situation.

Peter Stack, a spokesman for New York-based MetLife, declined to comment, as did Christina Pretto of New York-based AIG and Emmanuel Touzeau of Paris-based Axa.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adria Cimino in Paris at acimino1@bloomberg.net.