By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Germany rejects Greece's loan-extension request
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks swung between gains and
losses Thursday following the latest twist in Greece's debt drama,
as Germany rejected the country's request for a loan extension.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.2% at 381.03, but dipped briefly
after Germany said Greece's request for a six-month loan extension
doesn't represent "a substantial proposal for a solution,"
according to media reports. Earlier Thursday, the Greek government
submitted its loan proposal, but made clear it wouldn't accept all
the strict austerity measures required under its bailout
program.
Greece has been making a distinction between a loan agreement
and the 240-billion-euro ($273 billion) bailout program, which is
set to end later this month.
Germany argued the Greek request doesn't meet the bailout
requirements and said the proposal only aims at getting bridging
financing, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
The Stoxx 600 early Thursday had been down by as much as 0.8%,
but began to recover after Greece submitted the loan request.
Eurozone finance ministers, known as the Eurogroup, were expected
to review the proposal on Friday.
On Wednesday, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis had said
talks with creditors had been showing signs of progress.
Greece's Athex Composite turned lower by more than 1% after the
German rejection, but it has since recovered, rising 0.6% at
852.69. Greek banking stocks pared gains, with Alpha Bank AE
climbing 7.9% and Eurobank Ergasias SA up 3.5%. National Bank of
Greece SA tacked on 5.1%, and Piraeus Bank SA moved 3% higher.
The euro (EURUSD) fell to $1.1379 from late Wednesday's level of
$1.1398. It was largely unchanged after the release of minutes from
the European Central Bank's policy meeting last month. The minutes
showed concerns about persistent low inflation prompted officials
to approve a larger-than-expected bond-purchase plan.
Energy stocks: The Stoxx 600 oil and gas group remained lower by
nearly 2% as crude-oil futures (CLH5)fell 4% to around $50 a
barrel. The slide came after data released late Wednesday showed
weekly U.S. crude supplies jumped 14.3 million barrels, according
to the American Petroleum Institute. Analysts polled by Platts had
forecast an increase of 3.1 million barrels for the week.
Among the energy-related stocks trading at the bottom of the
Stoxx 600, deepwater driller Seadrill Ltd. dropped 4.5%,
exploration and production company Premier Oil PLC fell 4.2% and
Norway's Statoil ASA lost 3.6%.
Shares of oil producer Tullow Oil PLC were down 3%, a move that
also weighed on the U.K.'s FTSE 100, which was 2 points lower at
6,895.91. A fall of 8.4% in Centrica PLC shares also hurt the
British benchmark, after a downbeat financial update from the
parent company of British Gas.
On the other major European benchmarks, Germany's DAX (DAX)
pared its gain to 0.1% at 10,968.16. It had risen above the 11,000
mark earlier in the session. France's CAC reversed its loss, rising
0.5% to 4,820.93.
Movers: Air France-KLM SA shares fell 6.2% after Europe's
largest carrier said it will scale back its investment plans by
EUR600 million ($680 million) over the next two years.
Adidas AG shares bounced up 4.3% the German athletic wear maker
said it has begun searching for a successor to Chief Executive
Herbert Hainer. Hainer has served as CEO since 2001.
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