Greece's Athex on track for lowest close since 2012; European stocks lower
On Tuesday country-specific indices in Europe were mixed, while Europe’s benchmark stock index fell for the first time in six sessions.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.4% to 397.92, after closing at its highest level since July 22 on Monday.
Germany’s DAX 30 index climbed 0.1% at 11,453.11, while France’s CAC 40 index slipped 0.3% to 5,106.77.
The U.K.’s FTSE 100 index added 0.2% to 6,701.40, supported by a 5.1% gain for Meggitt PLC after the engineering company backed its full-year guidance and reported a rise in first-half earnings.
Energy companies were in negative territory after Monday’s sharp selloff in oil prices, which saw the global crude benchmark trading below $50 a barrel for the first time since January.
On Tuesday oil prices slightly recovered, with Brent crude rising 71 cents to bounce back above $50 a barrel.
The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate crude, gained 73 cents to $45.88 a barrel.
Greece. Athex Composite index gave up 3.8% to 643.04, putting it on track for the weakest close since August 2012. On Monday it opened for the first time in five weeks, after being suspended for all of July while the Greek authorites and its international creditors negotiated on a last-ditch bailout deal.
The country’s banks were hit the most, with shares of National Bank of Greece SA down 27%, Piraeus Bank SA off 30% and Alpha Bank AE down 30%.
Lenders across the rest of Europe were also in the red territory. Equities of Credit Agricole SA dropped 8.9%, Banco Popolare SC dipped 2.6%, and Banco Comercial Português SA declined 2.3%.
