Greece Stocks end at Lowest Level since 2012
European stock markets headed south Wednesday, as investors nervously digested the lack of progress in Greece’s debt talk with lenders ahead of a closely watched Eurogroup meeting later in the week.
Greece’s Athex Composite Index GD, -3.15% closed down 3.2% at 680.88, its lowest close since September 2012.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, -0.45% fell 0.5% to close at 383.74, partly wiping out the 0.6% advance it notched Tuesday. The benchmark caught a breather Tuesday afternoon after hitting its lowest point in almost four months on worries debt-laden Greece is heading for a default or even an exit from the eurozone.
Greece blues: Those concerns once again weighed on the market on Wednesday, as Athens and its lenders appeared no closer to reaching a reform deal that will unlock the next portion of bailout cash. If a deal can’t be reached, the country may be heading into an “uncontrollable crisis,” the Bank of Greece, the country’s central bank, warned Wednesday in its annual monetary report.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday reiterated that his government won’t agree to unacceptable creditor demands, such as pension cuts. Tsipras on Tuesday accused the International Monetary Fund of “criminal responsibility” for the situation, hardened his rhetoric against the creditors.
The Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers minister meet in Luxembourg on Thursday. The meeting is by many seen as the last chance to hammer out a deal ahead of Greece’s 1.6-billion-euro ($1.8 billion) payment to the IMF at the end of June. Greece’s top negotiator Euclid Tsakalotos confirmed to Reuters Athens doesn’t have enough cash to make the payment without an agreement.
“The nation’s fate [is] perilously in the balance as failure by Greece and its creditors to cede ground continues and a mud-slinging blame game by all and sundry for the lack of progress gathers pace. The clock ticks ever closer to default,” said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, in a note on Wednesday.
Other markets: Germany’s DAX 30 index DAX, -0.60% fell 0.6% to 10,978.01, while France’s CAC 40 index PX1, -1.02% fell 1% to 4,790.62. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index UKX, -0.44% gave up 0.4% at 6,680.55.
The euro EURUSD, +0.2756% exchanged hands at $1.1248, down slightly from $1.1250 late Tuesday in New York.
Movers: Shares of Berkeley Group Holdings PLC BKG, +10.23% rallied 10% after the U.K. home builder posted a 42% rise in full-year pretax profit.
French cognac maker Rémy Cointreau SA RCO, +3.04% rose 3% after fiscal full-year net profit leapt by almost 50%.
Source: MarketWatch
