Greece uncertainty drives stock markets lower
Source: AP-Excite
LONDON (AP) — Global stocks slid Thursday after a meeting between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the head of the European Union's executive arm failed to yield a breakthrough on the release of vital bailout loans.
KEEPING SCORE: In Europe, Germany's DAX fell 1.4 percent to 11,265 while the CAC-40 in France fell 0.7 percent to 4,949. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 1.3 percent lower at 6,859 while the Athens stock exchange was trading about 2 percent lower in mid-day trading. Wall Street was headed for a lower opening, with both Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures down 0.6 percent.
GREECE AGAIN: With time running out, there are real fears that Athens won't secure a deal that will see it get remaining bailout funds to avoid going bankrupt. There had been high hopes that Tsipras' meeting with Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, which ran into the early hours of Thursday, would at the least begin to show the outlines of a deal that would release the 7.2 billion euros ($8.2 billion) remaining in Greece's remaining bailout fund. Though progress appears to have been made on the level of the budget surplus that Athens has to run in the years ahead, the two sides remain far apart on issues such as sales taxes and pensions. Greece has a payment of a little more than 300 million euros to make Friday to the International Monetary Fund. Tsipras indicated the payment would not be a problem.
ANALYST TAKE: "It looks like investors put a bit too much stock in the Tsipras/Juncker meeting last night," said Connor Campbell, a trader at Spreadex.
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