March 3 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks declined after oil prices topped $53 a barrel for the first time in four months, renewing concern that higher energy costs may dent profits. Akzo Nobel NV and Air France-KLM Group declined.

``In the longer term, record high oil prices will have a crimping effect on the economy,'' said Will Armitage, a trader at IG Markets in London.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 0.1 percent to 265.85 as of 8:10 a.m. in London. The Stoxx 50 Index also fell 0.1 percent and the Euro Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the 12 countries using the euro, dropped 0.2 percent.

Chipmakers including STMicroelectronics NV dropped after Hynix Semiconductor Inc. of South Korea posted fourth-quarter profit that missed analysts' estimates. AstraZeneca Plc jumped after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the drugmaker's cholesterol treatment Crestor has a risk similar to competitors.

Rising fuel costs may boost costs for companies and damp economic growth. Stocks in the U.S. yesterday erased gains after European exchanges had closed, as soaring oil prices outweighed remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan that eased concern about the pace of interest-rate increases.

Crude oil rose 2.7 percent yesterday to $53.05 a barrel in New York, on concern production is not keeping up with rising demand. The contract last traded at $52.94 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Akzo, the largest Dutch chemical and drugmaker, fell 0.6 percent to 33.66 euros. Air France, Europe's biggest airline, dropped 1.7 percent to 14.29 euros.

U.S. Benchmarks Fall

The Dow Jones Industrial Average in the U.S. dropped 0.2 percent yesterday after rising as much as 0.4 percent in the session. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index, also up as much as 0.4 percent, ended down less than 0.1 percent after European trading ended. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 0.2 percent.

STMicroelectronics, Europe's largest semiconductor maker, lost 1.1 percent to 13.74 euros. Shares of Hynix, the world's second-largest memory-chip maker, plunged on concern falling prices will erode earnings.

Infineon Technologies AG, Europe's second-largest chipmaker, lost 1.3 percent to 7.90 euros after Merrill Lynch & Co. cut its earnings estimate on the company, citing lower prices for memory chips.

Andrew Griffin, an analyst at Merrill, cut his earnings per- share estimate for Infineon this year to 20 cents from 29 cents and to 14 cents. He cited a ``more cautious global stance'' on pricing for memory chips.

Crestor Ruling

AstraZeneca, Europe's third-biggest pharmaceutical company, jumped 3.5 percent to 2,145 pence. Crestor is no more dangerous than similar treatments such as Pfizer Inc.'s Lipitor, the U.S. FDA said yesterday.

The ruling may ease concerns about the cholesterol drug, which was singled out by the consumer watchdog group Public Citizen and by FDA medical reviewer David Graham as being more likely to cause kidney and muscle damage than rival medicines. Doctors should still be careful and use lower doses when starting new patients on Crestor to reduce risks, the FDA said.

The European Central Bank will probably leave borrowing costs at a six-decade low as economic growth and inflation slow in the 12 countries that use the euro, a survey of economists showed. All 34 economists surveyed by Bloomberg said the Frankfurt- based ECB will keep its benchmark refinancing rate at 2 percent today, where it has stood since June 2003.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexis Xydias in London at axydias@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 3, 2005 03:12 EST