European stocks were little changed, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index falling for the first week in a month, as Cypriot lawmakers sought to unlock a 10- billion-euro ($13 billion) bailout fund.

Euro-area finance ministers expect a proposal from Cyprus “as rapidly as possible” to raise the 5.8 billion euros needed to trigger the emergency loans, they said in a statement late yesterday. Cyprus didn’t get the financial support it sought from Russia, although the two countries will continue talking, Cyprus Finance Minister Michael Sarris said.

The race for a compromise comes after a week of tumult marked by Cypriot lawmakers’ rejection of a tax on bank deposits. That was demanded by the other 16 euro countries and the International Monetary Fund as a condition for the 10 billion-euro rescue.

In Germany, business confidence unexpectedly fell in March from a 10-month high. The Ifo institute in Munich said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, fell to 106.7 this month from 107.4 in February. That’s the first drop in five months. Economists predicted a gain to 107.8.

National benchmark indexes declined in 11 of the 18 western European markets. France’s CAC 40 lost 0.1 percent, Germany’s DAX slipped 0.3 percent, while the U.K.’s FTSE increased 0.1 percent.

MAN lost 2.6 percent to 84.80 euros. VW, Europe’s largest carmaker, will offer other holders of MAN stock 80.89 euros per share in a bid for full control of the company. VW, which already owns 75.03 percent of the Munich-based company’s voting rights, will set the final cash offer after it receives valuation reports from auditors, MAN said yesterday. Volkswagen added 0.8 percent to 156.55 euros.

Mulberry plunged 17 percent to 1,024 pence. The company said that lower tourist spending in London will reduce pretax profit for the year ending March 31 to about 26 million pounds ($39.5 million) from 36 million pounds. The average estimate of three analysts compiled by Bloomberg was 30.7 million pounds.

Hochtief AG, Germany’s largest builder, slid 5.3 percent to 51.41 euros. Leighton Holdings Ltd. Chairman Stephen Johns and two non-executive directors resigned from the board of Australia’s largest construction company, citing a dispute with its controlling shareholder Hochtief.

West Texas Intermediate crude rose, narrowing its discount versus Brent to the lowest level in two months, as the euro strengthened against the dollar and data showed the U.S. economy is improving.

WTI climbed as much as 1 percent and the euro increased from near a four-month low as Cypriot lawmakers debated measures needed to get a bailout. Cyprus is trying to raise 5.8 billion euros ($7.5 billion) needed to trigger emergency loans from the European Central Bank and avoid a financial crisis. The ECB said it will withdraw funding from Cyprus’s lenders from next week if the government and the euro area fail to agree on a deal. The Cypriot parliament rejected a measure to tax bank deposits earlier this week. German lawmakers from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition criticized the handling of Cyprus bailout proposals today.

Jobless claims dropped to a five-year low in the U.S. last week, based on the four-week moving average, the Labor Department reported yesterday.

Brent slid to the lowest level in more than three months in intraday trading as German business confidence unexpectedly fell. German business confidence fell from a 10-month high in March as Cyprus inflamed the euro region’s debt crisis. The Ifo institute in Munich said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, declined to 106.7 from 107.4 in February. That’s the first drop in five months.

WTI for May delivery gained to $93.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are down 0.5 percent this week.

Brent for May settlement rose 19 cents to $107.66 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange after falling to $106.90, the weakest intraday level since Dec. 7. 

Prices for the yellow metal retreated slightly from lows amid growing optimism about the bailout program for Cyprus. While the ECB and others are closely monitoring the developments in the troubled country, the price of gold fell to around 1603, which is the bottom of the last three sessions. After that, prices rebounded in early U.S. session after the euro rally on news that the ruling party of Cyprus was confident that in the coming hours will be agreed with the EU on the issue of providing financial assistance to the country.

Gold prices are close to the second weekly increase due to the demand for safe assets in the midst of a financial crisis in Cyprus. EU told to Cyprus until Monday to find several billion euros to get international help. Otherwise, the country is threatened by the collapse of the financial system and leaving the euro.

Stocks of the world's largest gold-exchange-traded fund (ETF) SPDR Gold Trust on Thursday fell by 0.902 tonnes to 1.221,26 tons - the lowest level since July 2011.

April futures price of gold today fell to 1,602.6 dollars per ounce, and then recovered slightly above $ 1,611 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

EUR/USD $1.2850, $1.2900, $1.2950, $1.2960, $1.3000

USD/JPY Y94.75, Y95.00, Y95.50, Y95.60, Y96.00

EUR/JPY Y123.00

GBP/USD $1.5100, $1.5200, $1.5300

EUR/GBP stg0.8550

GBP/CHF Chf1.4350

USD/CHF Chf0.9500

AUD/USD $1.0250, $1.0265, $1.0325, $1.0390, $1.0400, $1.0420

AUD/NZD NZ$1.2500

U.S. stock-index futures rose as Cyprus’s lawmakers debated measures needed to get a bailout.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei  12,338.53 -297.16 -2.35%

Hang Seng 22,115.3 -110.58 -0.50%

Shanghai Composite 2,328.28 +4.04 +0.17%

FTSE  6,402.62 +14.07 +0.22%

CAC 3,769.19 -5.66 -0.15%

DAX 7,920.46 -12.05 -0.15%

Crude oil $92.84 +0.42%

Gold $1603.60 -0.63%

Data

01:45 Australia RBA Assist Gov Edey Speaks March

08:00 Eurozone Cyprus Parliament votes on the banking/fund bills

09:00 Germany IFO - Business Climate March 107.4 107.8 106.7

09:00 Germany IFO - Current Assessment March 110.2 110.4 109.9

09:00 Germany IFO - Expectations March 104.6 105.0 103.6

The euro rose sharply against the dollar, as investors continue to eagerly catch news from Cyprus. Government spokesman said that the next few hours will be crucial for the country, as parliament prepares to vote on the membership of Cyprus in the eurozone. Meanwhile, the ECB announced that on March 27 22 banks repay loans, in the program LTRO. Estimated volume of maturity was € 1.936 billion in the economic calendar today is empty, and therefore the main driver of currency movements and volatility will be the development of the situation around Cyprus.

We also add that the European growth will not prevent even the data showed that the index of business sentiment in Germany, which is the largest economy in the euro zone fell unexpectedly in March, after a sharp rise in February. Businesses are less optimistic about their export.

Business climate index fell in March for the first time in five months, reaching 106.7 points against 107.4 points in February. The average forecast implied increase in the index to the level of 107.8 points. Ifo index decline followed the same unexpected (in terms of average forecasts) decline of business activity from Markit. Weak data on business activity index call into question the ability of the German economy to quickly recover after weak Q4. Ifo president said that the German economy is in difficult circumstances. He also noted the reduction of positive expectations about the prospects for export manufacturers.

The yen rebounded with minimum values ​​session against the dollar will recover in most of their losses, but investors are still relentlessly catch the news on the Cypriot issue. Although recent media reports that Russia has refused to fund the Cyprus, the Russian Prime Minister Medvedev said the door was slammed and the country may agree to assist. EU representative Barroso said that the position of the Eurogroup in the Cyprus issue is unanimous, and that the state is suffering from enlarged banking system, but the solution to this problem can be found.

EUR / USD: during the European session, the pair rose to $ 1.2965

GBP / USD: during the European session, the pair rose to $ 1.5212

USD / JPY: during the European session the pair fell to Y94.19, but later rose to Y94.85

At 14:00 GMT Belgium release index business sentiment for March.

EUR/USD

Offers $1.3040/50, $1.2995-005, $1.2970/80, $1.2945/55

Bids $1.2880/75, $1.2875/70, $1.2840, $1.2825/20

GBP/USD

Offers $1.5300, $1.5280, $1.5245/60, $1.5220/30

Bids $1.5165/60, $1.5125/20, $1.5100/090, $1.5010/00, $1.4985/80

AUD/USD

Offers $1.0550, $1.0520/30, $1.0490/00, $1.0455/60

Bids $1.0410/00, $1.0385/80, $1.0365/60, $1.0355/50, $1.0340/30

USD/JPY

Offers Y95.95/00, Y95.75/80, Y95.50, Y95.15/20, Y95.00

Bids Y94.00, Y93.50

EUR/GBP

Offers stg0.8695/700, stg0.8680/85, stg0.8650, stg0.8615/20, stg0.8570/80, stg0.8530

Bids stg0.8480, stg0.8450/40, stg0.8410/00

EUR/JPY

Offers Y123.45/50, Y123.00, Y122.65/70, Y122.50

Bids Y121.20, Y121.00, Y120.50

European (SXXP) stocks declined, extending the Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s biggest weekly drop in four months, as Cypriot lawmakers begin a debate to unlock bailout funds and prevent a financial collapse.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.3 percent to 293.63 at 10:04 a.m. in London.

In Germany, business confidence unexpectedly fell in March from a 10-month high. The Ifo institute in Munich said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, fell to 106.7 this month from 107.4 in February. That’s the first drop in five months. Economists predicted a gain to 107.8.

MAN lost 4.4 percent to 83.24 euros. VW, Europe’s largest carmaker, will offer other holders of MAN stock 80.89 euros per share in a bid for full control of the company. VW, which already owns 75.03 percent of the Munich-based company’s voting rights, will set the final cash offer after it receives valuation reports from auditors, MAN said yesterday.

Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) slid 3.9 percent to 1,442 pence. HSBC Holdings Plc. cuts its recommendation on the U.K.-based oil and gas engineering company to underweight, similar to a sell rating, from neutral, citing “a rapid and radical change in business strategy” as the company enters new integrated energy services and offshore markets. HSBC also questioned the sustainability of Petrofac’s onshore engineering and construction margins beyond 2013.

Hochtief AG, Germany’s largest builder, slid 3.9 percent to 52.18 euros. Leighton Holdings Ltd. Chairman Stephen Johns and two non-executive directors resigned from the board of Australia’s largest construction company, citing a dispute with its controlling shareholder Hochtief.

To date:

FTSE 100 6,386.12 -2.43 -0.04%

CAC 40 3,755.6 -19.25 -0.51%

DAX 7,910.2 -22.31 -0.28%

EUR/USD $1.2850, $1.2900, $1.2950, $1.2960, $1.3000

USD/JPY Y94.75, Y95.00, Y95.50, Y95.60, Y96.00

EUR/JPY Y123.00

GBP/USD $1.5100, $1.5200, $1.5300

EUR/GBP stg0.8550

GBP/CHF Chf1.4350

USD/CHF Chf0.9500

AUD/USD $1.0250, $1.0265, $1.0325, $1.0390, $1.0400, $1.0420

AUD/NZD NZ$1.2500

Currently:

FTSE 6,383.61 -4.94 -0.08%

CAC 3,772.09 -2.76 -0.07%

The euro trades near the lowest level in four months after the European Central Bank gave Cyprus until the start of next week to agree to a bailout package or lose emergency funding.

The ECB said in an e-mailed statement yesterday it will cut Cypriot banks off from emergency funds after March 25 unless the Mediterranean island agrees on a bailout with the EU and International Monetary Fund. Cypriot lawmakers will begin debate today on new legislation, after rejecting a proposal for an unprecedented levy on bank accounts.

Standard & Poor’s cut its rating on Cyprus by one level to CCC from CCC+, citing “acute problems” in the island nation’s banking industry. S&P said it has a negative outlook, pointing to the possibility of another cut.

The yen extended gains from yesterday when Haruhiko Kuroda failed to outline at his inaugural press conference as BOJ governor how he plans to achieve the central bank’s 2 percent inflation target, adopted at the urging of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The new central bank chief “was short on detail, disappointing the market,” David Croy, a Wellington-based researcher at ANZ National Bank Ltd. wrote in a note to clients today. “For the moment yen weakness appears mature.”

EUR / USD: the pair shown high at $1.2920 but fell to session lows later.

GBP / USD: during the Asian session the pair shown moderate growth, approach to the strong resistance at $1.5200/20 area.

USD / JPY: during the Asian session the pair fell to area of yesterday's low Y95.55.

(symbol/close price(00:00 GMT +02:00)/change, %)

GOLD 1,615.30 +6.30 +0.39%

(symbol/close price(00:00 GMT +02:00)/change, %)Nikkei 12,448.26 -187.43 -1.48%

Hang Seng 22,130.08 -95.80 -0.43%

Shanghai Composite 2,327.33 +3.08 +0.13%

FTSE  6,388.55 -44.15 -0.69%

CAC 3,774.85 -54.71 -1.43%

DAX 7,932.51 -69.46 -0.87%

DJIA 14,421.50 -90.24 -0.62%

S&P 500 1,546.85 -11.86 -0.76%

NASDAQ 3,222.60 -31.59 -0.97%

(symbol/close price(00:00 GMT +02:00)/change, %)EUR/USD $1,2894 -0,38%

GBP/USD $1,5169   +0,44%

USD/CHF Chf0,9469 +0,27%

USD/JPY Y95,04 -1,02%

EUR/JPY Y122,52 -1,43%

GBP/JPY Y144,16 -0,57%

AUD/USD $1,0435 +0,56%

NZD/USD $0,8313 +0,58%

USD/CAD C$1,0247 -0,09%

01:45 Australia RBA Assist Gov Edey Speaks March

08:00 Eurozone Cyprus Parliament votes on the banking/fund bills

09:00 Germany IFO - Business Climate March 107.4 107.8

09:00 Germany IFO - Current Assessment March 110.2 110.4

09:00 Germany IFO - Expectations March 104.6 105.0

14:00 Belgium Business Climate March -11.0 -10.3