European stocks were little changed near a five-year high after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signalled the central bank will maintain stimulus measures to support the U.S. economic recovery.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.2 percent to 310.59 at the close of trading. The gauge, which yesterday climbed to its highest level since June 2008, has rallied 97 percent since March 2009 as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged to preserve the euro and the Federal Reserve embarked on three rounds of stimulus.

The U.S. economy remains hampered by high unemployment and government spending cuts, and tightening policy too soon would endanger the recovery, Bernanke said today in testimony prepared for a hearing at the Joint Economic Committee of Congress in Washington. The Fed chairman is leading the most aggressive economic stimulus in the central bank's 100-year history in an effort to spur growth in the world's largest economy and reduce an unemployment rate that stands at 7.5 percent.

In the U.K., Bank of England Governor Mervyn King was defeated for a fourth month in his bid to expand stimulus. Six members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep quantitative easing at 375 billion pounds ($568 billion) this month, according to minutes from the BOE's May 8-9 meeting. King, David Miles and Paul Fisher backed increasing it by 25 billion pounds.

National benchmark indexes climbed in 13 of the 18 western European markets.

FTSE 100 6,840.27 +36.40 +0.53% CAC 40 4,051.11 +14.93 +0.37% DAX 8,530.89 +58.69 +0.69%

Metro jumped 10 percent to 27.34 euros, its biggest gain since November 2008. Morgan Stanley upgraded the retailer to overweight, the equivalent of a buy rating, from equal weight, and added the stock to its best ideas list, citing a possible reversal of declining cash and carry sales, the stabilization of Metro's MediaMarkt stores and potential disposals.

Britvic Plc (BVIC), the U.K. maker of Robinsons Barley Water, surged 11 percent to 522.5 pence, its highest price since at least 2005, after reporting first-half pretax profit of 37.5 million pounds, beating the average analyst estimate of 27.4 million pounds.

Lagardere SCA, France's largest publisher, advanced 3.4 percent to 28.75 euros after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock to neutral from underweight, citing its underperformance relative to other media shares.

Pandora tumbled 11 percent to 200 Danish kroner after Prometheus sold 13 million shares, raising 2.6 billion kroner ($451 million) in gross proceeds. Prometheus will retain a 40.9 percent stake in the company.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets (MRW) Plc lost 2.3 percent to 282.6 pence after UBS AG sold 103 million shares on behalf of an institutional seller at 280 pence each.

U.S. stock futures rose as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's testimony on the economy and the central bank's asset purchases.

Global Stocks:

Nikkei 15,627.26 +246.24 +1.60%

Hang Seng 23,261.08 -105.29 -0.45%

Shanghai Composite 2,302.4 -2.71 -0.12%

FTSE 6,811.94 +8.07 +0.12%

CAC 4,023.93 -12.25 -0.30%

DAX 8,467.07 -5.13 -0.06%

Crude oil $95.85 -0.32%

Gold $1392.80 +1.10%

Stocks in Europe declined from their highest level in almost five years before Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke testifies on the outlook for the world's biggest economy.

The European Union's leaders meet at a summit in Brussels today, where they may step up efforts against tax evasion.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King was defeated for a fourth month in his bid to expand stimulus. Six members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep quantitative easing at 375 billion pounds ($568 billion) this month, the central bank said in the minutes of its May 8-9 meeting. King, David Miles and Paul Fisher backed increasing it by 25 billion pounds.

U.K. retail sales unexpectedly fell in April, a report showed. Sales including fuel declined 1.3 percent from March, the Office for National Statistics said in London. The median forecast in a survey called for a 0.1 percent increase.

Wm Morrison lost 2.8 percent to 281.3 pence. UBS placed 103 million shares on behalf of an institutional seller at 280 pence each, according to terms of the sale obtained by Bloomberg News.

Pandora tumbled 11 percent to 199.90 Danish kroner. Prometheus sold 13 million shares, raising 2.6 billion kroner ($451 million) in gross proceeds, joint bookrunner JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in a statement. Prometheus will retain a 40.9 percent stake in Pandora.

Metro jumped 5.6 percent to 26.17 euros, its biggest gain in four months. Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight, meaning investors should buy the shares. Morgan Stanley also added the stock to its best ideas list, citing the possibility of reversing declining cash and carry sales, the stabilization of Metro's MediaMarkt stores and potential disposals.

Lagardere SCA, France's largest publisher, advanced 2.9 percent to 28.60 euros after JPMorgan upgraded the shares to neutral from underweight, citing their underperformance relative to other media stocks.

FTSE 100 6,792.4 -11.47 -0.17%

CAC 40 4,013.83 -22.35 -0.55%

DAX 8,451.35 -20.85 -0.25%

Asian stocks held gains, with the regional benchmark index headed for its highest close since June 2008, after the Bank of Japan maintained its plan to expand the monetary base.

Nikkei 225 15,627.26 +246.24 +1.60%

S&P/ASX 200 5,165.4 -14.66 -0.28%

Shanghai Composite 2,302.54 -2.57 -0.11%

Sony Corp. surged 7.4 percent in Tokyo after a person familiar with the matter said the company's board will evaluate spinning off its entertainment division.

Sojitz Corp., a Japanese importer of rare-earth metals, surged 13 percent after the Nikkei reported the trading company's profit will rise.

Seven West Media Ltd. sank 7.9 percent after KKR & Co. sold a stake in Australia's most-watched television broadcaster

Change % Change Last

Nikkei 225 15,381.02 +20.21 +0.13%

S&P/ASX 200 5,180.1 -28.93 -0.56%

Shanghai Composite 2,300.61 +0.62 +0.03%

FTSE 100 6,803.87 +48.24 +0.71%

CAC 40 4,036.18 +13.33 +0.33%

DAX 8,472.2 +16.37 +0.19%

Dow +53.76 15,389.04 +0.35%

Nasdaq +5.69 3,502.12 +0.16%

S&P +2.91 1,669.20 +0.17%