fell for the first time in three days as German business confidence rose less than forecast, adding to speculation a six-month rally has outpaced prospects for the economy. U.S. index futures retreated. Hennes & Mauritz AG led retailers lower after earnings missed estimates. 3i Group Plc sank 3.5 percent after the pace of new investments dropped. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, declined 1.4 percent as metals declined. Aiful Corp., Japan’s second-biggest consumer lender by assets, tumbled 24 percent after forecasting a full-year loss. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index slipped 1.2 percent to 241.79 at 9:49 a.m. in London as all 19 industry groups retreated. The gauge has soared 53 percent since March 9 as the Group of 20 nations committed about $12 trillion to revive growth and the Federal Reserve kept overnight borrowing costs near zero to unlock credit markets. “The market is ripe for a few weaker days in a row,” said Rudolf Buxtorf, who manages about $114 million at RBS Coutts Bank in Zurich. “The advances are saturated and any negative news can trigger momentum to the downside. Stocks are no longer cheap.” The rally has pushed valuations on the Stoxx 600 to more than 50 times the profit of its companies, the most expensive level since 2003, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. German business confidence rose to a 12-month high of 91.3 from 90.5 in August, according to the Ifo institute in Munich. Economists had forecast a reading of 92, the median of 40 projections in a Bloomberg News survey showed. U.S. Futures Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures dropped 0.4 percent. The benchmark index for U.S. equities slid yesterday as the Fed signaled it will use fewer tools to bolster economic growth. The central bank, following a two-day policy meeting, changed the wording in the final paragraph of its statement to say it will continue to employ a “wide range of tools” to bolster the economy. In its August statement, it said it would use “all available” tools. The Fed left its target rate for overnight loans between banks in a record-low range between zero and 0.25 percent, and said it will stay “exceptionally low” for an “extended period.” The central bank said the economy has “picked up,” activity in the housing industry has increased, household spending seems to have stabilized and businesses are cutting back on investments and staffing at a slower pace. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3 percent today as trading in Japan resumed after a three-day holiday. G-20 Meeting Leaders from the G-20 nations are meeting in Pittsburgh today and tomorrow to work on an accord to prevent a repeat of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and ensure a sustained recovery. U.S. President Barack Obama and his counterparts may be saddled with the weakest recovery since World War II if they are to pay off the $9 trillion tab they ran up rescuing the world economy. H&M slid 3.4 percent to 394.5 kronor, pulling a gauge of retail stock to the biggest decline among 19 industry groups on the Stoxx 600. Europe’s second-largest clothing retailer said third-quarter net income rose to 3.46 billion kronor ($500 million) from 3.33 billion kronor a year earlier. Analysts had estimated a profit of 3.5 billion kronor, according to a Bloomberg survey. BHP fell 1.4 percent to 1,677 pence, while Kazakhmys Plc dropped 2 percent to 1,080 pence. Aluminum, copper, nickel and tin fell on the London Metal Exchange. 3i, Aiful 3i sank 3.5 percent to 277.8 pence. Europe’s biggest publicly traded private equity firm said the pace of new investments dropped 75 percent as a lack of debt financing brought the buyout market nearly to a near-halt. Aiful plummeted 24 percent to 102 yen in Tokyo on its loss forecast and plans to cut as much as 44 percent of its workforce. Carlsberg A/S, the Danish brewer that’s also the biggest beer producer in Russia, fell 3.4 percent to 380 kroner after the Russian government raised beer taxes. Duty will rise 50 percent a year in 2010 through 2012, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said, reaching 10 rubles (33 cents) a liter in three years from 3 rubles now, according to remarks posted on the ministry’s Web site. A report today may show sales of existing U.S. homes climbed in August to the highest level in two years, another sign the real-estate collapse that triggered the global recession is abating, economists said. Separate data from the Labor Department is projected to show the number of Americans seeking jobless benefits rose last week. A repeat of the grand coalition between German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats may be the best election outcome for the country’s stock market, if history is any guide. Since, 1987, the only time Germany’s 30- company DAX Index advanced in the two months surrounding a vote was 2005, the only election resulting in a coalition between the CDU and the SPD.

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