By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Greece submits loan-extension request
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks turned modestly higher
Thursday, as a move by Greece toward solving its debt troubles
somewhat offset a drop in energy shares that came as oil prices
tanked.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.1% at 380.72. It had been down by
as much as 0.8%, but began to recover after Greece submitted a
request for an extension to its current loan from its European
creditors. Senior eurozone finance ministers were expected to
review the request on Thursday.
The move comes a day after the European Central Bank approved a
request from Greece's central bank to provide EUR68.3 billion in
emergency funding to Greek banks.
Talks with creditors are showing signs of progress, according to
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis.
"We are on the right track, the consultations show all the signs
of an agreement," Varoufakis said on Wednesday. "If the climate
holds, on Thursday we will have a positive outcome at a technical
level, and by Friday, a formal approval of the Greek position."
Greece's Athex Composite extended gains after news of the
request, rising 2.9% to 872.07. Greek banking stocks shot up, with
Eurobank Ergasias SA surging 12%. Alpha Bank AE climbed 11%,
National Bank of Greece SA tacked on 9.5%, and Piraeus Bank SA
moved 8.8% higher.
The euro (EURUSD) had climbed above $1.14 after Thursday's Greek
development, but later returned to late Wednesday's level of
$1.1398.
Energy stocks: The Stoxx 600 oil and gas group lost nearly 2% as
crude-oil futures (CLH5)fell almost 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 4.2%,
exploration and production company Premier Oil PLC fell 4% and
Norway's Statoil ASA lost 2.7%.
Shares of oil producer Tullow Oil PLC were down 3.3%, a move
that also weighed on the U.K.'s FTSE 100, which was 2 points lower
at 6,895.18. A fall of 8.5% 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)
turned up 0.3% to 10,990.63, and briefly rose back above the 11,000
mark. France's CAC reversed its loss, rising 0.5% to 4,823.49.
Movers: Air France-KLM SA shares fell 7.2% 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 5.5% the German athletic wear maker
said it has begun searching for a successor to Herbert Hainer.
Hainer has served as chief executive since 2001.
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