European stocks retreated for a second day as the Bank of Japan refrained from expanding stimulus and Treasuries sank amid speculation the Federal Reserve will trim bond purchases.

The BOJ today refrained from expanding its tools to rekindle inflation and stoke growth, sticking with an April pledge to increase the monetary base by 60 trillion yen ($620 billion) to 70 trillion yen a year.

Germany's Federal Constitutional Court began a two-day hearing to address the ECB's OMT program, which was introduced last year as concerns peaked that the euro region would break apart. The as-yet-unused OMT foresees potentially unlimited purchases of bonds of debt-stricken countries that sign up to adjustment programs.

National benchmark indexes dropped in all 18 western European markets today. France's CAC 40 lost 1.4 percent while Germany's DAX declined 1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.9 percent.

Legrand fell 4.1 percent to 35.59 euros. Wendel, France's biggest publicly traded investment firm, offered the remaining shares it holds at 36 euros apiece. The company said it made a capital gain of about 370 million euros. Wendel lost 1.5 percent to 83.92 euros.

ICAP dropped 3.6 percent to 359.9 pence, its biggest decline in two months, after Credit Suisse cut the world's largest broker of transactions between banks to underperform from neutral, meaning investors should sell the shares, citing a high level of uncertainty over volume trends.

Fonciere des Regions slipped 3 percent to 60.54 euros after saying it will spend close to 1 billion euros to lift its stake in Fonciere Developpement Logements to between 58.2 percent and 62.4 percent and increase its presence in Germany. Fonciere Developpement rose 6.9 percent to 18 euros.

U.S. stock-index futures fell after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he sees no need to expand monetary stimulus immediately.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei 13,317.62 -196.58 -1.45%

Hang Seng 21,354.66 -260.43 -1.20%

FTSE 6,296.23 -104.22 -1.63%

CAC 3,790.01 -74.35 -1.92%

DAX 8,168.66 -139.03 -1.67%

Crude oil $94.72 -1.10%

Gold $1367.20 -1.12%

European stocks slid to a seven-week low as the Bank of Japan refrained from expanding stimulus and Treasury yields climbed. U.S. index futures and Asian shares also declined.

Legrand SA retreated 4 percent after Wendel sold the remaining 14.4 million shares it holds in the world's largest maker of switches, plugs and lighting controls.

ICAP Plc dropped 3.6 percent after Credit Suisse Group AG recommended selling the shares. A gauge of European commodity producers retreated to the lowest since July 2009 as copper dropped for a fourth day in London trading.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 1.6 percent to 290.5 at 10:48 a.m. in London, the lowest since April 23. The gauge has retreated 6.4 percent since May 22 amid speculation the Federal Reserve will taper its bond-buying program as the U.S. economy strengthens.

The BOJ today refrained from expanding its tools to rekindle inflation and stoke growth, sticking with an April pledge to increase the monetary base by 60 trillion yen ($620 billion) to 70 trillion yen a year. Markets in China were closed for the Dragon Boat Festival.

Germany's top court will begin a two-day hearing today to address the European Central Bank's Outright Monetary Transactions program and the European Stability Mechanism.

The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe is reviewing the OMT, which was introduced last year as concerns peaked that the euro region would break apart, after plaintiffs including a lawmaker allied to Chancellor Angela Merkel brought a case against it. The as-yet-unused OMT foresees potentially unlimited purchases of bonds of debt-stricken countries that sign up to adjustment programs.

The court last year allowed Germany to ratify the 500 billion-euro ($663 billion) ESM bailout facility and the EU fiscal pact, while ruling the measures must include provisions that the country won't be forced to assume higher liabilities without its consent. The September ruling was preliminary and didn't cover the OMT bond program.

At the moment:

FTSE 100 6,313.42 -87.03 -1.36%

CAC 40 3,808.56 -55.80 -1.44%

DAX 8,193.23 -114.46 -1.38%

Asian stocks fell, led by Japanese shares, after the Bank of Japan kept its policy unchanged. Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong headed for the longest losing streak in 17 years.

Nikkei 225 13,317.62 -196.58 -1.45%

Hang Seng 21,345.18 -269.91 -1.25%

S&P/ASX 200 4,757.06 +19.36 +0.41%

Shanghai Composite 2,210.9 -31.21 -1.39%

Mitsubishi Estate Co., Japan's biggest developer by market value, dropped 4.4 percent after the BOJ refrained from adding to its purchase of real estate investment trusts.

SoftBank Corp. lost 0.4 percent after raising its offer for Sprint Nextel Corp. by 7.5 percent to $21.6 billion.

Samsung Electronics Co., the second heaviest-weighted stock on the MSCI Asian Pacific Index, dropped 2.5 percent in Seoul after its price target was cut at Morgan Stanley.

Change % Change Last

Nikkei 225 13,514.2 +636.67 +4.94%

S&P/ASX 200 4,737.7 -43.47 -0.91%

Shanghai Composite closed

FTSE 100 6,400.45 -11.54 -0.18%

CAC 40 3,864.36 -8.23 -0.21%

DAX 8,307.69 +53.01 +0.64%

DJIA 15,238.60 -9.53 -0.06%

S&P 500 1,642.81 -0.57 -0.03%

NASDAQ 3,473.77 4.55 0.13%