By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
U.K. GDP below forecast; Greek leader upbeat on debt talks
European stocks fell Tuesday, with Commerzbank AG shares among
the biggest decliners, and as investors looked ahead to what the
U.S. Federal Reserve may say about the pace of economic growth in
the world's largest economy.
The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.4% to 406.69. Only the energy sector
was moving higher. There, BP PLC (BP) shares rose 0.6% as the
British oil major's underlying replacement-cost profit for the
first quarter came in at $2.58 billion, above an expected $1.28
billion.
Financial stocks were shoved lower, with Commerzbank down 4.8%
as the company late Monday launched a share sale
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/commerzbank-profit-nearly-doubles-to-issue-new-shares-2015-04-28)
in an effort to raise EUR1.4 billion from institutional investors.
Commerzbank shares weighed on Germany's DAX 30 , which fell 1.4% to
11,872.78.
In Paris, the CAC 40 fell 0.9% to 5,221.10. In Madrid, the IBEX
35
The drop in European equities followed Monday's jump of 1%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-fall-with-deutsche-bank-greece-in-focus-2015-04-27),
which came following reports the team negotiating on behalf of
debt-strapped Greece with its international creditors was
reshuffled.
"Markets are becoming increasingly cautious as the key [Federal
Reserve Open Market Committee] meeting begins to dominate the
thoughts of traders," wrote Richard Perry, market analyst at Hantec
Markets, noting that Wall Street on Monday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-investors-begin-the-wait-for-apple-results-fomc-meeting-2015-04-27)
took on a "cautious mood" that left the S&P 500 index (SPX)
down 0.4%. U.S. stock futures fell ahead of Tuesday's open
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-fed-jitters-send-futures-into-the-red-2015-04-28)
on Wall Street.
Fed policy makers will begin a meeting later Tuesday and will
assess what's been a patch of weaker-than-expected economic
data.
U.K.: In the U.K., first-quarter gross domestic product grew at
a slower-than-anticipated pace
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-growth-disappoints-in-the-first-quarter-2015-04-28).
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 held to losses after the data
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), but the pound
(GBPUSD) recovered from a brief selloff, surging to $1.5289, from
$1.5225 just ahead of the GDP report.
Sterling gained as traders switched focus to the "clear
divergence between the U.K. and the U.S." in monetary policy, said
Angus Campbell, senior analyst at FxPro. There is been speculation
that a recent run of poor U.S. economic reports will contribute in
a decision by the Fed to hold off on raising interest rates in
June.
Greece: In Athens, the Athex Composite turned 0.2% higher to
796.43, while bond yields fell as prices climbed. The yield on
two-year debt dropped 1.8 percentage points to 20.5%, and 10-year
bonds were yielding 11%, down 55 basis points.
In his first major TV interview since being elected in January,
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras late Monday reportedly said he
expects an agreement on an Greek economic reform program to be
hammered out before May 9
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/greek-pm-confident-a-reform-deal-is-done-by-may-9-report-2015-04-28),
which would end a two-month deadlock in negotiations with its
international creditors.
Read: The fast and the slow route to a 'Grexit'
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-fast-and-the-slow-route-to-a-grexit-2015-04-27)
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