European stocks closed little changed after fluctuating between gains and losses more than a dozen times as Japan's economy expanded more than initially estimated while growth in Chinese exports slumped.

In Japan, gross domestic product expanded an annualized 4.1 percent in the first quarter, compared with a preliminary calculation of 3.5 percent, the Cabinet Office said in Tokyo today. Consumer confidence climbed to the highest level since 2007 in May, separate data showed. The Topix index jumped 5.2 percent for the biggest gain in two years.

China's export growth plummeted to a 10-month low in May and imports unexpectedly fell as a crackdown on fake trade invoices exposed weakness in global demand. Overseas sales rose 1 percent from a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs said on June 8, trailing 35 of 38 analysts' estimates in a survey and down from April's 14.7 percent pace. Imports dropped 0.3 percent.

National benchmark indexes fell in 12 of the 18 western European markets open today. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 each slipped 0.2 percent, while Germany's DAX gained 0.6 percent. Greece's ASE sank 4.7 percent as the government said the sale of Depa SA, the Greek state natural gas supplier, received no bids.

ITV Plc increased 3.7 percent to 134.2 pence, the biggest advance since February. Liberum Capital upgraded its price estimate on the U.K. broadcaster's shares to 200 pence from 155 pence, citing "structurally resilient" free-to-air television advertisements and forecast growth in online and content revenue.

Severn Trent slid 6 percent to 1,946 pence, the largest decline since June 20, 2012. Borealis Infrastructure Management Inc. and its partners in the LongRiver group abandoned a 5.3 billion-pound offer for Severn Trent after the U.K. water utility declined to negotiate.

Anglo American and Rio Tinto retreated 2.8 percent to 1,421.5 pence and 2.4 percent to 2,740 pence, respectively. Lonmin Plc, the world's third-largest platinum producer, slipped 3.2 percent to 287.6 pence. Antofagasta Plc, the Chilean copper producer, declined 1.2 percent to 911 pence.