European Stocks Flat Amid Rising Russia-US Tensions

(RTTNews) - European markets bounced back and forth on Thursday after U.S. President Barack Obama said international order is being tested by Russia's annexation of Crimea.

The U.S. and the European Union agreed to work together in preparing possible tougher sanctions to isolate Russia for its intervention in Crimea.

The tensions over Ukraine kept stocks from adding much to strong gains from the previous two session.s

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks rose 0.14 percent. The index is up 1.4 percent from a week ago, having scratched into positive territory year-to-date.

Royal Bank of Scotland's US business has failed the Federal Reserve's test of financial stability. RBS shares fell 1.3 percent.

UBS has suspended six more foreign exchange traders amid an internal probe into alleged rigging of currency benchmarks. Shares fell 0.8 percent.

Babcock International lost 6.6 percent. The engineering support services company entered into a conditional agreement to acquire Avincis from World Helicopters S.à r.l. for 920 million pounds.

Daily Mail and General Trust, which issued a trading update, lost 7.4 percent.

Fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz, or H&M, fell sharply in Stockholm after reporting quarterly profit that missed estimates.

United Internet AG rose 5.2 percent after saying that earnings jumped 25 percent last year.

Marine Harvest ASA rose 2.5 percent after the salmon farmer agreed to sell some assets to Cooke Aquaculture Inc.

In economic news, France's consumer confidence unexpectedly rose in March to equal its July 2012 level, official data showed.