10/06/2015 01:24 AST
Europe’s main stock markets retreated yesterday as investors tracked the latest news flow on stalled Greek debt talks, while HSBC bank slid on revelations of a radical overhaul.
Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index dropped 0.58% to close at 11,001.29 points and the CAC 40 in Paris reversed 0.15% to 4,850.22 points.,
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 slid 0.53% to end the day at 6,753.8 points.
Shares in bank giant HSBC slumped 0.94% to close at 613.70 pence in London, as investors also digested drastic job cuts aimed at saving up to $5bn in annual costs by late 2017.
Athens meanwhile submitted new reform proposals to the European Union as it struggles to secure a deal to release €7.2bn ($8.1bn) of remaining bailout funds with a huge debt repayments to the IMF due at the end of the month.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has warned that if no deal is reached it would lead to the collapse of the eurozone.
“European stocks are once again heading lower as investor concerns grow about the prospects of Greece actually leaving the eurozone,” said technical analyst Fawad Razaqzada at trading site Forex.com.
The euro slipped to $1.1284 from $1.1293 late on Monday in New York.
But later yesterday the European Commission vice-president for the euro Valdis Dombrovskis held out some hope.
“I would say that reaching the agreement within coming days is possible, it’s possible to reach a staff level agreement which then can be (approved) by the Eurogroup (of finance ministers),” Dombrovskis told reporters when asked about the proposals.
“But this really requires political will, first and foremost by the Greek side. So less tactical manoeuvring and more work on substance,” the former Latvian prime minister added.
Greece submitted its latest reform plan to its EU-IMF creditors yesterday, a day before Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras meanwhile is due to discuss how to end Athens’ debt crisis with the French and German leaders today on the sidelines of an EU-Latin American summit, European sources said.
One major Greek proposal was an idea, first floated by Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, for debt held by the European Central Bank to be transferred to the eurozone’s crisis-fighting fund, the European Stability Mechanism, which is widely seen as softer, another source said.
The move would effectively delay two huge payments owed by Greece to the ECB this summer, giving nearly-broke Athens some urgently needed breathing space.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s markets were calmer yesterday following a tumultuous first day of trading after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its parliamentary majority in weekend elections, ushering in a new period of uncertainty.
Turkey’s main stock index added 0.44%, rebounding slightly after losing 5.0% on Monday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.10% to 17,783.80 points in mid-day trade in New York.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.16% to 2,082.60, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slid 0.19% to 5,012.28.
AFP
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