By Daniela Silberstein Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks declined after the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rose to a 15-month high yesterday. Asian shares climbed. Cadbury Plc slipped 1.7 percent after Nestle SA agreed to buy a pizza business from Kraft Foods Inc. and said it has no interest in acquiring the U.K. confectioner. Tesco Plc led retailers lower after BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research downgraded the shares. Europe’s Stoxx 600 declined 0.4 percent to 256.64 as of 8:40 a.m. in London. The measure surged 28 percent last year, its biggest annual gain since 1999, boosted by record-low interest rates in the U.S. and Europe and about $12 trillion of commitments from governments worldwide to revive credit markets and stimulate growth. The International Monetary Fund this month will boost its forecast for global economic growth partly because government efforts to prevent a wider financial crisis were successful, Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky said. The gains in equities “could last into January and February this year but at some point we’re going to have to face up that monetary stimulus is going to be withdrawn,” Andy Lynch, who manages $1.8 billion at Schroder Investment Management Ltd. in London, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “The juice we’ve all been benefiting from is going to be turned off.” The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rallied the most in almost two months yesterday after the Institute of Supply Management said its factory index climbed more than estimated. Futures on the benchmark gauge for U.S. equities fell 0.1 percent today. Asian Stocks The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 1 percent to a 16- month high, led by companies that rely on the U.S. for growth. Nikon Corp., a camera maker that counts North America as its biggest market by revenue, rose 1.9 percent to 1,868 yen. Cadbury retreated 1.7 percent to 791.5 pence after Nestle, the world’s largest food company, said it won’t make or join an offer for the chocolate maker. Kraft, which is attempting to buy the U.K. company, extended its bid deadline to Feb. 2 and offered more cash in place of stock. Nestle slipped 0.2 percent to 50.85 Swiss francs after the maker of Nescafe coffee and KitKat chocolate bars agreed to buy Kraft’s U.S.-based frozen pizza business for $3.7 billion. Tesco slid 1.9 percent to 420.1 pence after BofA Merrill Lynch downgraded the world’s third-largest retailer to “neutral” from “buy.” Marks & Spencer Group Plc, which was also cut to “neutral” from “buy,” dropped 2 percent to 404 pence. Air Liquide Air Liquide SA fell 1.6 percent to 83.15 euros. The world’s biggest maker of industrial gases has suspended its medium-term target of boosting annual sales by 8 percent to 10 percent because of the economic crisis, La Tribune reported, citing an unidentified person at the company. A report today may show the number of contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes probably fell in November for the first time in 10 months. The index of signed purchase agreements, or pending home sales, dropped 2 percent after October’s 3.7 percent increase, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 35 economists before today’s release from the National Association of Realtors at 10 a.m. Washington time. Factory orders rose for a third straight month in November, data from the Commerce Department at the same time may show. To contact the reporter on this story: Daniela Silberstein in Zurich at dsilberstei2@bloomberg.net.

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