Europe Stocks mired in Red, with Greek Default Expected

European stocks dropped Tuesday, with investors closing the book on the quarter and month still rattled by uncertainty over Greece’s future in the euro and the European Union.

The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -0.96% fell 1% to 382.34, with all sectors struggling in the red. The pan-European index is moving toward a loss of 3.8% for the second quarter and a decline of 4.4% for the month of June, but it remains nearly 12% higher year-to-date.

German, French and Italian shares were extending losses from Monday. In that session, logged their worst percentage falls since November 2011, as the prospects for debt-burdened Greece deteriorated.

After the breakdown of negotiations aimed at avoiding debt default, Greece on Tuesday is expected to miss a 1.54 billion euro ($1.71 billion) payment to the International Monetary Fund. The country’s bailout program also expires on Tuesday.

Trading in Greek stocks GD, +2.03% will be closed all week, as Greece prepares for a referendum on whether to accept reform measures proposed by its lenders.

In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 DAX, -0.96% fell 1% to 10,972.05, and in Paris, the CAC 40 PX1, -0.98% was lower by 1% to 4,819.30. Italy’s FTSE MIB FTSEMIB, -0.21% lost 0.3% at 22,513.62.

Spain’s IBEX 35 IBEX, -0.56% gave up 0.5% at 10,793.40, and Portugal’s PSE 20 index PSI20, -0.79% shed 0.8% at 5,486.56. In London, the FTSE 100 UKX, -0.73% fell 0.7% at 6,574.53.

The euro EURUSD, -0.6141% was down 0.4% at $1.1171.

Later Tuesday, a preliminary reading on eurozone inflation in June is scheduled for release, alongside the unemployment rate in May in the currency bloc. Data released Tuesday morning showed German retail sales continued to expand in May, while jobless claims in Europe’s economic powerhouse fell further in June.

Source: MarketWatch