Europe midday: Stocks head lower after Greek presidential vote
European equities were uniformly lower following an unexpected 'no' vote in Greece's parliament against the government´s candidate for the presidency.
As of 12:04 the Dax-30 was lower by 0.64% to 9,858.64, the Cac-40 down by 0.33% to 4,281.58 and the FTSE Mibtel was losing 2.3% to hit 18,906.24.
A failure by Stavros Dimas, the ex-European Commissioner for the Environment to win sufficient backing forced the Prime Minister to call 'snap' elections for 25 January, triggering a potential fresh bout of political uncertainty.
No contagion risk for wider Eurozone, some observers say
However, some osbervers were adamant there was no risk of contagion for the wider Eurozone.
Unlike two years ago, this time around the far-left Syriza party has a small, albeit narrowing, lead in polls of voters´ intentions over other parties. That is “scary”, wrote Berenberg´s Holger Schmieding. Even so, the Eurozone now had the necessary mechanisms in place to fend off any potential contagion risks which might arise should Greece leave the single currency area.
All told, there was a “risk of around 30% that Greece may descend into a new deep crisis with potential euro exit, beyond the inevitable bout of near-term uncertainty now. That is a significant risk,” he said.
Schmieding added that the crisis which would ensue, should the Mediterranean country decide to quit the euro, would likely dissuade others from attempting to follow suit, as some investors may fear in case of a so-called 'Grexit' materialising.
Sovereign Greek 10-year bond yields were higher by 67 basis points to 8.63% and the Athens stock exchange´s main index was down 6.74%, although off its intra-day lows.
Search continues for missing Air Asia jet
A small flotilla of ships and planes was continuing the search for the AirAsia passenger jet which disappeared over the weekend with 162 people aboard. The airline is Airbus's largest customer, analysts pointed out.
Chemicals maker Lanxess expects its fiscal year earnings to tend towards the lower end of its guidance range, according to the company´s chief executive.
Oil engineering and construction outfit Saipem has no plans to carry out a capital increase, according to Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore.
Heidelberg Cement was set to sell its construction materials business in the US and UK to a unit of private-equity group Lone Star Funds for €1.4bn.
Small gain in Brent crude futures
Front month Brent crude futures were gaining 1.33% to $60.25 per barrel on the ICE.
The euro/dollar was up by 0.14% to 1.2194.