Europe midday: Stocks decline as Moody's says Greece's election outcome is credit negative
European stocks were in the red as Moody’s said Greece’s election outcome is credit negative and as the EU considered further sanctions in Russia.
Moody's Investors Service said the outcome of the elections in Greece was credit negative for the country's rating because it caused prolonged financial uncertainty as the anti-austerity party Syriza comes to head with the Troika (International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank).
Ministers on Monday agreed to work with the new government to help keep Greece in the euro, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said.
On another negative note for markets, the EU is expected to add more individuals this week to a list of those facing visa bans and asset freezes in Russia as deadly clashes between government troops and rebels escalated.
UK GDP worse than expected
The UK economic expansion slowed more than forecast to just 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2014, as contractions in construction and production weighed on growth. The quarter-on-quarter rate of gross domestic product (GDP) growth eased from 0.7% growth in the third quarter of last year, missing the estimate of 0.6%.
On a year-on-year basis, GDP growth improved to 2.7% from 2.6% but came in shy of the 2.8% forecast, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Siemens, Royal Philips
Siemens slumped as the European engineering company reported a fall in first quarter profit.
Royal Philips NV dropped after saying it is falling short of its 2016 financial targets following shipment delays, currency impact and weakness in some of its markets.
Google.
Easyjet gained after reporting an increase in first-quarter revenue, as the airline expanded its capacity.
The euro rose 0.36% to $1.1279.
Brent crude futures increased 0.49% to $48.40 per barrel, according to the ICE.