European stocks fell from a six-month high and the euro declined the most in three weeks as Greek leaders wrestled with spending cuts to get aid and avert default. German bonds rose, while Italian debt and oil dropped. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.6 percent at 9:30 a.m. in London. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slid 0.6 percent, and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies listed in Hong Kong dropped 0.4 percent. The euro weakened 0.9 percent to $1.3037. The German 10-year bond yield declined five basis points, while the extra yield investors demand to hold Italian 10-year debt instead of bunds rose 13 basis points. Oil fell 1.1 percent and copper retreated 0.8 percent. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos struck a tentative deal with party leaders to extend spending cuts after euro-area finance chiefs told them an increase in the 130 billion-euro ($170 billion) aid package wasn’t forthcoming. Chiefs of the three parties supporting Papademos’s government meet again today to work on details of an agreement. China’s economic growth would be cut almost in half if Europe’s debt crisis worsens, the International Monetary Fund said. “We are entering into a fairly critical 24 hours for Greece,� Jim Reid, a strategist at Deutsche Bank AG in London, wrote in a report. “The focus has shifted from the private sector involvement negotiations toward the lack of political consensus and whether the interim coalition government will accept the conditions� for its second bailout package, he said. Glencore Offer The Stoxx 600 fell for the first time in five days as mining companies and banks led the retreat. Glencore International Plc (GLEN) slid 3 percent as the Financial Times reported that the commodities trader may offer 2.8 shares for each Xstrata Plc share as it attempts to buy the mining company. Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world’s biggest maker of wind turbines, slid 6.2 percent as ING Groep NV downgraded its price estimate on the shares and Berlingske reported that Chairman Bent Carlsen has no plans to step down or change the management. The S&P 500 closed at a six-month high on Feb. 3 after three days of gains. The euro declined against 13 of 16 major peers tracked by Bloomberg, weakening the most against the dollar since Jan. 13 on a closing basis. The euro depreciated 0.8 percent against the yen to 99.94, falling below 100 for the sixth consecutive day. The Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the U.S. currency against those of six trading partners, jumped 0.6 percent. The cost of insuring European sovereign debt rose for the first time in four days with the Markit iTraxx SovX Western Europe Index of credit-default swaps linked to 15 governments rising three basis points to 322 basis points. Natural Gas Natural gas led declines in commodities, falling 2 percent. Oil in New York dropped to $96.80 a barrel. Copper was down to $8,493 a metric ton. China is the biggest buyer of the metal. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index (MXEF) fell 0.2 percent. The gauge climbed 3.1 percent last week, capping the fifth and longest stretch of weekly gains since October 2010. The Czech PX Index (PX) slid 1.1 percent. Benchmark indexes fell at least 0.3 percent in Turkey and South Africa. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PCOMP) jumped 1.2 percent after the central bank cut lenders’ reserve- requirement ratios, while India’s benchmark index rose 0.7 percent. To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net; Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong at lthomasson@bloomberg.net; To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stuart Wallace at Swallace6@bloomberg.net

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