European stocks closed little changed, after the biggest weekly selloff this year, as a rebound in automakers and mining companies offset an unexpected drop in U.S. housing data.

A U.S. Commerce Department report today showed purchases of new houses unexpectedly fell in February for a second month. Sales dropped 1.6 percent to a 313,000 annual pace, the slowest since October, compared to 318,000 in January.

National benchmark indexes rose in 13 of 18 western- European markets. France’s CAC 40 rose 0.1 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX both rose 0.2 percent.

Renault rallied 2.5 percent to 40.30 euros today, leading a gauge of companies in the auto industry 1.4 percent higher. PSA Peugeot Citroen SA increased 2.3 percent to 12.89 euros and Volkswagen SA increased 1.7 percent to 132.35 euros.

Mining companies also advanced as copper rebounded in London. Antofagasta rallied 2.7 percent to 1,172 pence, the first increase in four days. Kazakhmys Plc advanced 2.5 percent to 935.5 pence and Rio Tinto Group gained 1.5 percent to 3,382.5 pence.

Elsewhere, CGGVeritas, the world’s largest seismic surveyor of oil fields, climbed 4.7 percent to 22.70 euros after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its recommendation for the shares to neutral from underweight.

U.S. stocks rose, trimming the biggest weekly drop of the year for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as a gain in energy companies offset a report showing purchases of new homes unexpectedly fell.

U.S. stocks retreated yesterday as manufacturing contracted in China and Europe and FedEx Corp. tumbled amid a disappointing forecast. The S&P 500 is still up 2.3 percent for March, heading for its longest monthly rally since September 2009 as economic data topped forecasts and the European Central Bank disbursed more than 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) to lenders.

Dow 13,086.52     +40.38 +0.31%, Nasdaq      3,062.19       -1.13   -0.04%, S&P 500    1,397.27       +4.49         +0.32%

Chevron (CVX) climbed 1.1 percent to $106.55. Oil surged almost $3 a barrel after Reuters reported Iranian oil exports will drop by 300,000 barrels a day because of tighter sanctions. Consol Energy Inc. jumped 2.8 percent to $33.85 while Nabors Industries Ltd. added 3 percent to $19.08.

Raw-material companies had the second-biggest gain out of 10 groups in the S&P 500, climbing 1.1 percent as commodity prices rose. Alcoa Inc. (AA)  jumped 2.1 percent, the most in the Dow, to $10.22.

Financial shares advanced. Morgan Stanley added 3.8 percent to $20.34 for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. The New York- based firm was raised to sector perform from underperform at Royal Bank of Canada. Discover Financial Services climbed 3.8 percent to $33.71 after the payments network company was raised to conviction buy at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The S&P Supercomposite Homebuilding Index fell 2 percent today. New-home sales fell 1.6 percent to a 313,000 annual pace, the slowest since October, from a 318,000 rate in January that was weaker than previously reported, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington.

KB Home, the Los Angeles-based homebuilder that targets first-time buyers, sank 8.9 percent to $10.24. Revenue in the first-quarter was $254.6 million, falling short of the average analyst estimate of $328.6 million.

Micron Technology Inc. fell 3.7 percent to $8.39 for the biggest drop in the S&P 500 after reporting a third consecutive quarterly loss as sluggish demand for personal computers dragged down chip prices.

U.S. stock futures were little changed ahead of a report on new-home sales.

New home sales rose to a 325,000 annual rate in February from 321,000 the previous month, according to a survey of economists ahead of a Commerce Department report at 14:00 GMT. That would be the fastest since December 2010.

Global Stocks

Nikkei  10,011.47 -115.61 -1.14%

Hang Seng 20,668.8 -232.76 -1.11%

Shanghai Composite 2,349.54 -26.23 -1.10%

FTSE  5,825.2 -20.45 -0.35%

CAC  3,452.39 -20.07 -0.58%

DAX 6,951.34 -29.92 -0.43%

Crude oil $105.83 +0.5%

Gold $1650.00 +0,5%

Asian stocks fell, with the benchmark index headed for its biggest weekly loss this year, as a surprise drop in profit at China’s third-largest bank compounded concern the global economy is slowing as manufacturing shrinks from Europe to Asia.

Nikkei 225 10,011.47 -115.61 -1.14%

Hang Seng 20,668.8 -232.76 -1.11%

S&P/ASX 200 4,270.39 -3.29 -0.08%

Shanghai Composite 2,349.54 -26.23 -1.10%

Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., slid 4.3 percent after posting lower-than-expected earnings and HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe’s largest lender by market value, slid 1.6 percent in Hong Kong.

Honda Motor Co., which gets about 80 percent of its revenue overseas, fell 2.9 percent in Tokyo after the yen strengthened.

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, lost 1.2 percent in Sydney after metal and oil prices fell yesterday.

Resistance 3: Chf0.9200 (Mar 15 low)

Resistance 2: Chf0.9180 (Mar 19-22 high)

Resistance 1: Chf0.9150 (Mar 20-21 high)

The current price: Chf0.9133

Support 1: Chf0.9125 (session low)

Support 2: Chf0.9095 (Mar 22 low)

Support 3: Chf0.9075 (Mar 21 low)

Change % Change Last

Nikkei 225 10,127.08 +40.59 +0.40%

Hang Seng 20,901.56 +44.93 +0.22%

S&P/ASX 200 4,273.68 +19.43 +0.46%

Shanghai Composite 2,375.77 -2.42 -0.10%

FTSE 100 5,845.65 -46.30 -0.79%

CAC 40 3,472.46 -54.91 -1.56%

DAX 6,981.26 -90.06 -1.27%

Dow 13,046.14 -78.48 -0.60%

Nasdaq 3,063.32 -12.00 -0.39%

S&P 500 1,392.78 -10.11 -0.72%