By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks dropped Tuesday, with
uncertainty about Greece's future in the eurozone swirling anew
after debt talks between Greece and its creditors fell apart
abruptly.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.5% to 374.85, with Greek bank
stocks among the sharpest decliners after talks among eurozone
finance ministers and Greece collapsed late Monday. Greece's new
anti-austerity government rejected an extension to its
240-billion-euro ($272 billion) bailout program under the
conditions offered by its European partners.
Piraeus Bank SA shares lost 8.5%, National Bank of Greece SA
lost 7.5%, and Eurobank Ergasias SA slumped 6.9%. The move also
pressured Greece's Athex Composite , which fell 3.3% to 831.09. The
Athex's year-to-date gain has now been reduced to 15%.
A new Eurogroup meeting may be scheduled for Friday. The euro
(EURUSD) had been lower after the breakdown in talks, but recently
recovered to buy $1.1376, versus $1.1356 late Monday.
On the major European benchmarks, Germany's DAX was down 0.9% to
10,830.25, France's CAC dropped 1% to 4,704.27, and the U.K.'s FTSE
100 slipped 2 points to 6,854.82.
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