(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei 14,224.23 -238.29 -1.65%

Hang Seng 21,182.16 -386.53 -1.79%

Shanghai Composite 1,993.48 -28.26 -1.40%

S&P 500 1,872.01 +11.24 +0.60%

NASDAQ 4,319.29 +11.68 +0.27%

Dow 16,331.05 +108.88 +0.67%

FTSE 6,542.44 -30.69 -0.47%

CAC 4,327.91 +19.85 +0.46%

DAX 9,296.12 +19.07 +0.21%

Most European stocks declined as investors weighed Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s remark that benchmark interest rates could rise about six months after the central bank ends bond purchases.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added less than 0.1 percent to 327.67 at the close of trading, as two shares fell for every one that rose. The benchmark gauge has dropped 0.2 percent in 2014, after two years of gains, as the Fed began trimming its asset buying by $10 billion a month and a conflict in Ukraine led to tensions between Russia and the U.S.

Yellen, speaking after chairing a Federal Open Market Committee meeting for the first time, said policy makers have stopped linking the interest-rate policy to an employment threshold. Even so, pressed to define how long rates will remain low after quantitative easing ends, she said the term would be “on the order of around six months.”

Quarterly Fed forecasts also showed more officials predicting that the benchmark rate, now close to zero, will rise to at least 1 percent at the end of 2015 and 2.25 percent a year later. The central bank said it would trim its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion to $55 billion.

National benchmark indexes dropped in 11 of the 18 markets in western Europe. Germany’s DAX gained 0.2 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 slid 0.5 percent and France’s CAC 40 added 0.5 percent.

Glaxo dropped 1.6 percent to 1,629 pence. The drugmaker said its MAGE-A3 treatment failed to meet its objectives in a clinical trial. The medicine didn’t significantly extend disease-free survival in tests compared with a placebo.

Intu Properties Plc fell 4.6 percent to 308.3 pence. The U.K.’s largest shopping-mall owner has agreed to buy three retail centers from Westfield Group for 867.8 million pounds ($1.4 billion) including working capital.

Munich Re advanced 1.4 percent to 152.34 euros after saying it will buy back shares worth 1 billion euros before its 2015 shareholder meeting. The world’s biggest reinsurer also projected a 9.1 percent drop in 2014 profit.

Next Plc rose 2.3 percent to 6,730 pence. The U.K.’s second-largest clothing retailer said underlying pretax profit rose 12 percent to 695.2 million pounds in the year through January, more than the 694 million-pound average of analysts’ estimates.

U.S. stock futures declined after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled interest rates may rise by the middle of next year.

Global markets:

Nikkei 14,224.23 -238.29 -1.65%

Hang Seng 21,182.16 -386.53 -1.79%

Shanghai Composite 1,993.48 -28.26 -1.40%

FTSE 6,508.7 -64.43 -0.98%

CAC 4,273.49 -34.57 -0.80%

DAX 9,193.85 -83.20 -0.90%

Crude oil $99.74 (-0.63%)

Gold $1324.00 (-1.29%).

European stock indices show a decrease in response to yesterday's announcement by the head of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen that the first rate hike will occur closer to the middle of 2015. U.S. index futures are little changed , while Asian shares fell .

Recall that yesterday Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve decided to cut from April buyback of government bonds and mortgage-backed securities to $ 55 billion to $ 65 billion . In addition, the results of the Fed's next meeting has kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 0-0.25 % per annum.

It was also reported that the U.S. Federal Reserve will take into account a wide range of factors when making decisions about the base interest rate , which is currently at the level of 0-0.25 %. Earlier, the Fed focused mainly on unemployment and inflation. However, plans for a sharp increase in rates by the regulator in any case no . "In the background of the unemployment rate to 6.5% , the Committee decided to change the approach to the rate increase. Will be assessed a number of factors, including the labor market , inflationary pressures , as well as the state of the financial sector . Fed members believe that the rate will be acceptable to keep for a long time after the end of QE, especially if inflation is below 2 %, " - said the Fed .

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.6 percent. Since the beginning of the year , the index fell by 0.7 percent.

Many market participants are waiting for new statistical data from the United States: a weekly report on the labor market , home sales in the secondary market as a leading indicator . It is expected that the number of applications for unemployment benefits will rise to 327 thousand from 315 thousand , housing sales in the secondary market will rise to 4.65 million from 4.62 million, and the leading index added 0.3 %.

Also today, the outcome will be made public stress test the U.S. banking sector . expected

Shares of GlaxoSmithKline Plc - British pharmaceutical company , fell 2 % , as its experimental drug to treat lung cancer clinical trial failed .

Cost Munich Re - the largest reinsurance companies in the world , rose 1.9% after the announcement of a new share buyback by 1 billion euros to May 2015 , while still not completed the previous program of the same volume . Investors are not yet responded to the message of the expected decline in profits in 2014 by 9% - up to 3 billion euros.

Securities exchange operator Deutsche Boerse AG fell 2.5% after JP Morgan Cazenove downgraded the rating of the stock from " neutral" to " underperform ."

Cost Siemens AG rose 0.8 percent , as experts UBS AG upgraded the stock the largest engineering company in Europe to the level of "buy" from "neutral" , referring to the fall in stocks this year. Siemens has lost 4 percent in 2014.

At the current moment

FTSE 100 6,499.28 -73.85 -1.12 %

CAC 40 4,267.26 -40.80 -0.95 %

DAX 9,177.84 -99.21 -1.07%

Asian stocks fell, with a gauge of Chinese shares in Hong Kong entering a bear market, after the Federal Reserve signaled it may raise U.S. interest rates from the middle of next year.

Nikkei 225 14,224.23 -238.29 -1.65%

S&P/ASX 200 5,294 -61.59 -1.15%

Shanghai Composite 1,993.48 -28.26 -1.40%

Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s biggest gold producer, slumped 7.9 percent after bullion dropped the most in three months as the Fed’s announcement curbed demand for havens.

China Mobile Ltd. dropped 3.6 percent to the lowest close in almost five years in Hong Kong after the world’s largest phone company posted profit that missed estimates.

BYD Co., the electric-car maker backed by Warren Buffett, tumbled 14 percent in Hong Kong after projecting lower-than-expected first-quarter profit.