On Friday European stocks retreated from a five-month high as talks between Greek officials and private creditors entered a third day. U.S. index futures dropped while Asian shares rose.

Cie. de Saint-Gobain, Europe’s largest building-materials supplier, led construction shares lower, falling 1.8 percent. L’Oreal SA, the world’s biggest cosmetics maker, lost 1.6 percent as Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares. Vodafone Group Plc gained 1.7 percent after India’s Supreme Court said the mobile-phone company isn’t liable to pay more than $2 billion in taxes on a 2007 acquisition.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.5 percent to 255.23 at 10:02 a.m. in London. The gauge has still advanced 4.4 percent in 2012, the best start to a year since 1997.

The Stoxx 600 has risen 2.4 percent this week, heading for a fifth straight advance, amid signs the U.S. economy is recovering, Europe will contain its debt crisis and speculation that China will ease lending curbs to spur economic growth.

Greek officials and private creditors will meet for a third day to seek agreement on a debt swap after “long and substantial” discussions yesterday, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said.

Banks have until the end of the day to tell national regulators how they plan to meet capital targets drawn up by the European Banking Authority. The proposals will be discussed at meetings in London on the 8th and 9th February.

Japanese stocks rose for a fourth day, with the Topix gaining the most since October, as falling U.S. jobless claims fell and lower European borrowing boosted the outlook for exporters. The Topix climbed 2 percent to 755.47, its sharpest advance since the 27th October. For the week, Japan’s broadest benchmark gained 2.8 percent. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 1.5 percent.