Europe midday: Stocks little changed as concerns over Greece continue
European stocks were little changed on Thursday, paring losses from early in the session after a sell-off in bonds sparked a two-day decline.
Assicurazioni Generali
€22.91
13:40 24/03/23
Daimler AG
€70.16
16:30 19/03/24
DJ EURO STOXX 50
4,936.85
23:59 22/04/24
Fixed Line Telecommunications
1,854.86
09:24 23/04/24
FTSE 250
19,696.39
09:25 23/04/24
FTSE 350
4,428.09
09:25 23/04/24
FTSE All-Share
4,382.24
09:25 23/04/24
TalkTalk Telecom Group
96.90p
16:34 11/03/21
Tods
€43.01
13:37 24/03/23
Volkswagen AG
€139.00
09:25 23/04/24
Xetra DAX
17,982.84
09:25 23/04/24
At noon, the Stoxx Europe 600 Index was down 0.10%, the CAC 40 and the DAX were flat, while the MIB edged 0.35% higher.
At the same time, the euro climbed 0.75% against the dollar, moving above the $1.14 threshold on the back of disappointing US economic data form the previous session.
Stocks declined on Tuesday and Wednesday as the bond-sell off and a stronger euro weighed on German equities, while yields rose on 10-year notes in Germany, Spain and Italy on Thursday.
“The bond market moves are making investors quite anxious,” said Oanda’s senior market analyst Craig Erlam.
“The pace at which they have risen has been quite surprising, which is probably a consequence of a lack of liquidity in the market at the moment.”
Meanwhile, Greece’s ASE Index rose 1.2%, although Greek finance minister Yanis Vartoufakis admitted on Thursday that the country’s debt was not viable and called for the repayments to the European Central Bank to be pulled back.
"Over July-August the finance ministry will have to borrow €6.7bn from our partners in one way or the other to repay bonds from the Securities Markets Programme programme," Varoufakis said.
Analysts insisted that Greece’s stubborn refusal to meet some of the requirements imposed by the European Central Bank and by the International Monetary Fund remained a serious issue.
“Greece has urged its creditors to speed up the negotiating process whilst refusing to change any of its own ‘red lines’, hardly the stuff of compromise-led resolution,” said Spreadex’s financial analyst Connor Campbell.
In company news, mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton fell 1.68% and 1.85% respectively, while Daimler and Volkswagen shed 0.64% and 0.44% respectively.
Shoes and accessories maker Tod’s SpA edged forward 1.14% despite reporting first quarter earnings that fell short of expectations.
Fashion retailer Salvatore Ferragamo SpA slid 5.1% after sales on a constant currency basis rose less-than-expected, while Italian insurer Generali moved up 2.19%
Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica SA fell 0.75% as domestic revenue fell in the first quarter, while British sector peer TalkTalk Telecom Group gained 4.7% after posting 4.2% growth in full year turnover as revenues accelerated in the fourth quarter.