ROME: European stocks fell Friday, with investors wrapping up the week and the month still unclear as to whether Greece will be able to reach a debt deal before a key payment deadline.
The Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, -0.87% was down 0.6% to 404.24, with losses picking up pace in mid-morning trade. The index was still in line for a monthly gain of 2%, but was facing a weekly loss of 1%.
“The pressure’s on ahead of [a] long Greek-end,” said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, in a note to clients Friday.
On the country indexes, Germany’s DAX 30 DAX, -1.25% fell 1.1% to 11,547.93, and France’s CAC 40 PX1, -1.22% lost 1% to 5,086.03. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 UKX, -0.17% was down 0.3% at 7,020.46.
Hopes were raised this week that Greece was in the backstretch of a deal needed to get its next round of bailout funds, but European officials quashed that talk, saying more work needed to be done. The Greek government says it’s still aiming to reach a deal on Sunday.
But for now equities are “on the back foot .. and focus [is] reverting to likelihood of more can-kicking and temporary solutions seeing us in the same boat come end-June,” said van Dulken.
Greece has a scheduled 1.5 billion-euro ($1.6 billion) debt-service payment to the International Monetary Fund due on June 5.
The IMF’s managing director, Christine Lagarde said Greece’s exit from the eurozone is a possibility, quoted in a German newspaper report Thursday. However, such a move wouldn’t spell the end for the euro, she added.
