By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Greece shares climb as Greek, German leaders set to meet
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks fell Monday, with some
major benchmarks pausing after ringing up record highs last
week.
The Stoxx Europe 600 lost 0.9% at 400.35, with only the energy
group advancing.
Outperforming in the region were Greek stocks, with the Athex
Composite popping up 3% to 766.51. The move came ahead of an
expected meeting between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and
German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin to discuss Greece's debt
problems.
Greek bank shares topped the Stoxx 600, with Eurobank Ergasias
SA jumping 11.6%, Alpha Bank SE climbing 11% and Piraeus Bank SA
rising 8.9%.
Ahead of the meeting, Tsipras said it would be "impossible" for
Greece to service its debt
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/impossible-for-greece-to-service-debt-tsipras-warns-merkel-2015-03-23)
in the next few weeks without short-term financial aid from the
European Union, the Financial Times reported
(http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/ae9d0cb8-d0b5-11e4-982a-00144feab7de.html?siteedition=intl#axzz3VCEsxgnI)
(subscription required).
But overall, European stocks remained in the red as European
Central Bank President Mario Draghi told a European Parliamentary
committee during afternoon trade that there has been a pickup in
momentum in eurozone growth, aided by lower oil prices and a
decline in the euro.
The euro (EURUSD) was little changed around $1.0934 as Draghi
spoke in Brussels. It was higher, however, than late Friday's level
of $1.0821.
The euro has been driven closer to parity with the dollar this
year, largely because of the launch of the European Central Bank's
asset-purchase program, which, in turn, has pushed European
equities into record territory this year.
On Friday, the Stoxx 600 leapt 0.9%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-nudge-higher-with-greek-stocks-advancing-2015-03-20)
and moved toward its all-time closing high of 405.50.
Shares of European exporters have fared well as the decline in
the euro has made prices of goods more attractive to overseas
consumers. Such moves have contributed to a 21% leap in German
stocks this year that pushed the DAX 30 over the 12,000 level for
the first time. But the DAX was among the benchmarks pulling back
Monday, losing 1.3% to 11,879.80.
France's CAC 40 fell 0.8% to 5,045.27, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-pulls-back-from-record-high-2015-03-23)
was fractionally lower at 7,019.47 hovering just below its
record-closing high above 7,000
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) that was reached
on Friday.
Among movers on Monday, London-listed shares of Standard
Chartered PLC jumped 6.7% to GBP11.12 as Citigroup raised its price
target on the Asia-focused lender to GBP13.00.
Looking at leadership: The dollar's rally this year against key
rivals has seen some softening since last week's Federal Reserve
meeting, which left many investors with the impression the Fed may
leave key interest rates on hold for longer than previous
anticipated. The ICE dollar index (DXY), a measure of the
greenback's strength against a basket of six rival currencies, fell
more than 1% last week, and fell again on Monday.
J.P. Morgan Cazenove analysts on Monday said the recent surge in
DXY was "becoming an increasing problem for equities" and the
capped rally for DXY is allowing it to maintain a constructive
stance on stocks.
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