By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Greece's Athex Composite falls nearly 4%
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets slipped Monday,
with investors striking a cautious tone as eurozone finance
ministers took another stab at ending the standoff between Greece
and its lenders.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index edged down 0.1% to 375.55, pulling
back after posting a 1% gain last week. Greece's Athex Composite
index slumped 3.8% to 859.70, with banks posting the biggest
slides. National Bank of Greece SA and Piraeus Bank SA each tumbled
12%, and Alpha Bank AE dropped 8.9%.
Greece remained in the spotlight as Eurogroup finance ministers
met in Brussels to discuss the new Greek government's demand to
change the terms of its bailout program. Greek Prime Minister
Alexis Tsipras has refused to ask for an extension of the current
rescue plan -- which expires at the end of the month -- unless
Greece's lenders agree to greater leniency on debt repayments and
on austerity measures. Earlier negotiations ended in a deadlock,
raising fears that Greece could end up leaving the eurozone, a move
that could unnerve financial markets.
Read: 5 things you need to know about the Greek debt
showdown
Eurozone finance ministers on Monday continued to turn up the
pressure, saying little progress had been made in talks over the
weekend and that a deal at Monday's meeting is unlikely.
"Time and money are running out for Greece. A subtle change in
tone in Athens suggests that the new Greek government has started
to notice," economists at Berenberg said in a note.
"But whether Prime Minister Tsipras has really grasped how close
he has already pushed Greece to the abyss of wholesale financial
crisis, recession and 'Grexit', and whether he is ready to perform
the inevitable U-turn to avoid that fate, remains a very open
question."
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said over the weekend he
believes a deal will be reached at the 11th hour.
Other markets: Germany's DAX 30 index ended lower by 0.4% at
10,923.23, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index shed 0.2% to 6,857.05 .
France's CAC 40 index turned lower, falling nearly 3 points to
4,756.60.
The euro (EURUSD) traded at $1.1389 compared with $1.1391 late
Friday. See Currencies column.
U.S. markets were closed Monday for the Presidents Day
holiday.
Movers: Total SA fell 0.6% as Credit Suisse cut the oil giant to
neutral from outperform.
Airbus Group NV added 1.4% as Credit Suisse lifted the plane
maker to outperform from underperform.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires