Stocks slipped from near recent highs on Wednesday while the euro retreated towards a four-month low in the wake of upbeat U.S. economic data and the European Central Bank's monetary easing, Reuters reported. Profit warnings from Germany's Lufthansa and France's Vallourec dented investors' appetite for equities following a sharp rally, with the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares losing 0.3 percent. Spanish and Italian yields were 3 basis points higher at 2.66 percent and 2.82 percent, respectively. Portuguese yields rose 2 bps to 3.39 percent before Lisbon's first debt auction since the end of its bailout programme in May. Portugal will offer up to 750 million euros in 10-year bonds, while Italy plans to sell up to 8.5 billion euros of three-, seven- and 30-year bonds on Thursday. German Bund futures were 34 ticks lower, at 144.89. Asian stocks dipped from recent peaks, while Japan's Nikkei bucked the trend, gaining 0.5 percent after MSCI's decision to remove South Korea and Taiwan indexes from its review list for reclassification to developed markets, keeping them in the emerging markets classification. Brent futures added 24 cents to $109.76 a barrel, lifted by expectations that a drop in U.S. gasoline stockpiles pointed to a healthy outlook for demand.
