Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks and U.S. index futures fluctuated as investors weighed evidence of an economic recovery with central bank preparations to start unwinding stimulus packages. The euro rose against the yen and dollar. The MSCI World Index of 23 developed markets slipped 0.2 percent at 11:43 a.m. in London after a six-month, 59 percent rally drove valuations to 25.4 times earnings, almost the most expensive level since 2003, according to weekly data compiled by Bloomberg. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid less than 0.1 percent after falling as much as 0.6 percent. The euro strengthened against 14 of 16 major currencies. Investors are questioning the pace of the rebound from the first global recession since World War II after figures yesterday showed U.S. consumer credit plunged five times as much as forecast in July. The Federal Reserve publishes its Beige Book business survey today. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said today that “it’s not time yet to say that the crisis is over,” though policy makers should be ready to respond to faster growth by curbing stimulus measures. “Outside of 1932-1933, this will be the first time we have seen a six-month period with a price move of greater than 50 percent,” wrote Jim Reid, a strategist at Deutsche Bank AG in London. “This rally leaves us historically on the expensive side.” Six-Month Surge The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index of European shares added 0.3 percent, erasing an earlier loss of 0.5 percent as automakers advanced. A 51 percent surge since March 9 has driven valuations on the regional gauge to 44.8 times profit, near the highest level since 2003, weekly Bloomberg data show. Renault SA, France’s second-largest carmaker, rallied 5.2 percent. Carlos Ghosn, chief executive officer of Renault and Nissan Motor Co., told Le Figaro in an interview that the worst of the financial crisis is over. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG rose 6 percent as the world’s biggest maker of luxury cars was raised to “overweight” from “underweight” at Morgan Stanley. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.8 percent from a one- year high as Alibaba.com Ltd. Chairman Jack Ma sold a stake and shareholders of Lenovo Group Ltd., including TPG Inc., cut their holdings. Alibaba.com, owner of China’s biggest electronic- commerce Web site, dropped 6.7 percent in Hong Kong. Lenovo, China’s largest maker of personal computers, sank 5.7 percent. The drop in U.S. futures indicated that the S&P 500 may decline for the first time in four days. Directors of the Fed’s regional banks may add to recent comments from policy makers suggesting that inflation will remain subdued when the Beige Book is published. Fed Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans is scheduled to speak on inflation in New York. Fed Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher is due to deliver a speech in Dallas on challenges to the economy. Poland Sells Debt The MSCI Emerging Markets Index dropped for the first time in five days, falling 0.4 percent. Poland is offering as much as 2 billion zloty ($703 million) in bonds maturing in April 2014, its first government debt sale since saying Sept. 4 that next year’s budget will almost double from 2009 and it will have to increase debt issuance and sell state assets to finance the gap. Treasuries rose, pushing the yield on the 10-year note down 1 basis point to 3.48 percent, even as the U.S. prepared to sell $20 billion of 10-year securities, part of an unprecedented borrowing plan designed to drag the economy out of the recession. German two-year government notes were little changed as the nation sold 5.7 billion euros ($8.3 billion) of new benchmark securities. Italy sold 6 billion euros of bonds due September 2040, according to a banker involved in the transaction. Libor Declines Government efforts to boost lending have helped thaw credit markets that froze two years ago and spurred the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. almost 12 months ago. The London interbank offered rate, or Libor, for three-month loans in dollars may fall for a 16th day today to 0.295 percent, according to Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg. The rate was 4.82 percent on Oct. 10 last year. Corporate bond sales in Europe extended their surge, driving this year’s issuance above a record $1.24 trillion compared with $1.1 trillion for the whole of 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Enel SpA, Italy’s biggest utility, is planning a benchmark issue of bonds in euros and pounds, according to a banker involved in the transaction. American Honda, a unit of Tokyo- based Honda Motor Co. Ltd., plans to sell 750 million euros of five-year notes. Alstom SA, the world’s biggest maker of coal- fired power plants, is planning a 500 million-euro sale of five- year notes, a banker involved in the sale said. Euro Gains The rebound in European equities helped push the euro up 0.4 percent against the yen. The dollar advanced against higher- yielding currencies, adding 0.2 percent versus the Australian dollar and 0.5 percent against the South African rand. The Dollar Index, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the U.S. currency against the yen, euro, pound, Swiss franc, Swedish krona and Canadian dollar, was little changed at 77.322, snapping three days of declines to leave it 4.9 percent lower for the year. Copper dropped 0.3 percent to $6,455 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, its first decline in five days. Gold fell for the first time in seven days, slipping 0.2 percent to $993.22 an ounce in London. Silver decreased for the first time in nine days, losing 0.7 percent to $16.31. Silver will probably outperform gold because it’s more closely linked to a rebound in the industrial cycle, Citigroup Inc. said in a report today. Oil slipped 0.2 percent to $70.99 a barrel as ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries gathered in Vienna to decide on output levels. Members have said the group should keep its production target unchanged at 24.845 million barrels a day. All of the 26 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted the organization will keep quotas steady.

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