By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Greece's Athex on track for lowest close since 2012
Europe's benchmark stock index was on track for its first fall
in six sessions on Tuesday, and Greek stocks remained under
pressure on their second trading day after that market
reopened.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 0.2% to 398.62, after
closing Monday at its highest level since July 22.
Greek weakness: Greece's Athex Composite index slumped 1.8% to
656.22, setting it on track for the lowest close since 2012. The
benchmark started trading for the first time in five weeks on
Monday, after being halted for all of July while the Greek
government and its international creditors hammered out a
last-ditch bailout deal. Read: Greece expects final bailout deal by
Aug. 18
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/greece-expects-final-bailout-deal-by-aug-18-reports-2015-08-04)
The country's banks were hardest hit in the day's trading, the
daily loss limit. National Bank of Greece SA (ETE.AT), Piraeus Bank
SA (TPEIR.AT) and Alpha Bank AE (ALPHA.AT) all plunged 30%, the
daily loss limit.
Banks across the rest of Europe were also mired in the red.
Shares of Credit Agricole SA (ACA.FR) plunged 11%, Banco Popolare
SC (BP.MI) fell 2.6%, and Banco Comercial Português SA (BPCGY) lost
3.3%.
Commodity blues: Energy companies were in negative territory
after Monday's harsh selloff in oil prices, which saw the global
crude benchmark trading below $50 a barrel for the first time since
January.
Shares of Repsol SA (REPYY) lost 1.7%, Total SA (TOT) (TOT) fell
0.7% on Tuesday and Eni SpA (ENI.MI) dropped 1.2%.
Oil prices recovered a bit on Tuesday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), with Brent
crude on London's ICE Futures rising 64 cents to trade back above
$50 a barrel. The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate crude,
added 92 cents to $46.08 a barrel.
Other markets: Country-specific benchmarks traded mixed, with
Germany's DAX 30 index up 0.1% at 11,450.12, while France's CAC 40
index slipped 0.3% to 5,107.07.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index rose 0.1% to 6,696.24
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-drops-for-second-day-as-standard-life-travis-perkins-slide-2015-08-04),
propped up by a 5.9% gain for Meggitt PLC (MGGT.LN) after the
engineering company backed its full-year guidance and reported a
rise in first-half earnings.
Movers: Shares of BMW AG (BMW.XE) dropped 1.8% after the German
car maker reported a decline in second-quarter profit
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bmw-profit-falls-as-competition-heats-up-2015-08-04)
due to fierce competition.
Standard Life (SL.LN) fell 2.7% after the insurer and asset
manager said revenue declined in the first half of the year
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/standard-life-revenue-drops-on-market-volatility-2015-08-04)
due to market volatility.
Continental AG (CON.XE) climbed 5.2% after the tire maker said
earnings rose in the second quarter.
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