By Sara Sjolin and Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Greek assets hit on fears Syriza could hurt bailout
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Greek stocks tanked for a third straight
day on Wednesday as the country's new government started to unravel
key parts of its bailout agreement, while the broader European
markets fell after a mixed batch of corporate updates.
Greece's Athex Composite index slumped 9.2% to 711.13, building
on a 3.7% loss from Tuesday and a 3.2% slide on Monday. The index
is now trading at its lowest level since September 2012. The yield
on 10-year Greek government bonds leapt a full basis point to
10.831%, according to electronic trading platform Tradeweb.
This week's weakness in Greek assets comes after radical,
far-left Syriza won Greece's general election on Sunday, stirring
concerns that the new government could put an end to reforms agreed
with international lenders as part of the country's bailout
program.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras held his first
cabinet meeting with the new government, telling ministers that
Greece will insist on debt relief from its international creditors.
The Tsipras administration also announced plans to freeze
privatization plans for the country's dominant power utility PPC
and Piraeus Port, the country's biggest port, as well as increasing
the minium wage.
Some analysts fear this could be the beginning of a breakdown in
the bailout agreement between Greece and its troika of lenders --
the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the
International Monetary Fund -- and ultimately endanger Greece's
membership in the eurozone.
Greek bank stocks were again among biggest losers in Europe,
with Piraeus Bank SA plunging 29% and Alpha Bank AE sliding 27%.
National Bank of Greece SA dropped 25%, and Eurobank Ergasias SA
fell 26%.
The rest of Europe: Other European markets fared better then
Greece. The Stoxx Europe 600 index swung 0.1% higher to 369.08. The
index fell 1% Tuesday, its first loss after eight consecutive
sessions of gains.
Germany's DAX 30 index reversed course and rose 0.8% to
10,710.97. France's CAC 40 index was off 0.3% at 4,610.94, but the
U.K.'s FTSE 100 index rose 0.2% to 6,825.94.
Earnings and updates: Shares of Electrolux AB topped the Stoxx
Europe 600 on Wednesday, rising 12% after the home-appliances maker
said it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter.
Nordea Bank AB jumped 8.8% after the Scandinavian bank reported
a 13% rise in fourth-quarter net profit.
Tryg AS rose 3.1% after the Danish insurer said was launching a
new cost-cutting program to meet its financial targets and reported
a 13% rise in fourth-quarter net profit.
On a more downbeat note, shares of Antofagasta PLC dropped 2.9%
after the U.K.-listed miner published 2015 production and cost
targets that were below analysts' expectations.
Data: Investors received a read on consumer confidence in
Germany, and the GfK market research's survey indicated confidence
in February will rise as lower energy prices give consumers the
opportunity to spend in other areas. Confidence in Germany's
largest economy is likely to rise to 9.3 points, higher than
forecast of 9.1 points produced by a Wall Street Journal poll of
analysts.
In France, consumer confidence was flat in January from
December.
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