By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
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 6.2% to 735.10, 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 surged 54 basis points to
10.075%, 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 "we
will push for debt relief," according to the Guardian. The Tsipras
administration also announced plans to freeze privatization plans
of the country's dominant power utility PPC and Piraeus Port, the
country's biggest port, as well as increasing the minium wage.
The moves are seen as the beginning of breaking parts of the
bailout agreement, feared to upset the troika of lenders -- the
European Commission, the European Central Bank and the
International Monetary Fund -- and ultimately put Greece's eurozone
membership in danger.
Greek stocks were again among biggest fallers in Europe, with
Piraeus Bank SA off 15%, National Bank of Greece SA down 14%,
Eurobank Ergasias SA 14% lower and Alpha Bank AE off 13%.
The rest of Europe: Other European markets were faring better
then Greece, although they were still in the red. The Stoxx Europe
600 index lost 0.5% to 367.03, adding to a 1% decline from
Tuesday.
France's CAC 40 index dropped 0.7% to 4,593.59, Germany's DAX 30
index lost 0.5% to 10,754.46, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index gave
up 0.4% to 6,785.19.
Earnings and updates: Shares of Electrolux AB topped the Stoxx
Europe 600 on Wednesday, rising 10% after the home-appliances maker
said it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter.
Nordea Bank AB jumped 5.9% after the Scandinavian bank reported
a 13% rise in fourth-quarter net profit.
Tryg AS added 3.6% 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 3.8%
after the U.K.-listed miner published 2015 production and cost
targets that were below analysts' expectations.
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