European stocks declined from the highest level in almost five years as bank and airline shares retreated, overshadowing better-than-forecast retail sales data in the U.S.

National benchmark indexes fell in 11 of the 18 western European markets. France's CAC 40 retreated 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent while Germany's DAX was little changed. The volume of shares changing hands in Stoxx 600 companies was 16 percent lower than the 30-day average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Commerzbank slid 4.7 percent to 9.94 euros, the biggest drop since March 14. Germany's second-largest bank will sell new shares a part of a 2.5 billion-euro ($3.3 billion) capital increase, Handelsblatt said, citing unidentified people in the finance industry.

Standard Chartered, the U.K. lender that earns most of its profit in Asia, slipped 1.9 percent to 1,552.5 pence as Block said he's betting against the lender's debt because of "deteriorating" loan quality.

Lonmin advanced 2.6 percent to 286 pence. The third-largest platinum producer returned to profit in its first half through March from a year earlier. The profit of 13.3 cents a share compared with a loss of 6.3 cents in the year-earlier period. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of five analysts was for a loss of 4 cents.

Vestas Wind Systems A/S surged 11 percent to 66.30 kroner, its highest price since February 2012. Credit Suisse Group AG raised the world's biggest wind-turbine maker to neutral from underperform, citing benefits from cost cuts.