European Stocks Slide

By TOBY ANDERSON

LONDON—European stocks were lower Monday, with investors frustrated that European finance ministers were unable to reach a concrete solution to the Greek crisis despite meeting over the weekend.

Volumes have also been affected by the late start to trading on NYSE Euronext's stock exchanges in Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon and Paris because of a technical problem.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was recently 0.9% lower at 264.80. London's FTSE 100 Index fell 1% to 5660.56, Frankfurt's DAX was 1.1% lower at 7084.82, and Paris' CAC-40 Index dropped 1.4% to 3770.35, having opened late.

Fears about Greece and a potential default on its debt dominated market mood. "Until markets see some solid plans put in place to deal with Greece, the markets are only going to be heading in one direction," said Simon Furlong at Spreadex. It was the banking sector which suffered the bulk of the selling, with the Stoxx Europe 600 banks index down 1.5% at 182.36.

Euro-zone politicians said they had narrowed their differences over how to get Greece's private-sector creditors to contribute to the country's financing in coming years, but that they wouldn't have a final plan in place until early July.

After meeting in Luxembourg on Sunday, the finance ministers left crucial details unresolved, most importantly how to get creditors to participate without causing a Greek sovereign default. In a statement, they pledged to avoid any form of default, which many fear could throw the euro-zone financial system into chaos.

Eyes will turn to the second day of this meeting in Luxembourg on Monday for more detail on the payout of the next tranche of the European Union/International Monetary Fund loan and a voluntary bondholder rollover pact.

In Asia earlier Monday, stock markets largely pushed lower on disappointment over the meeting on the Greek crisis. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed just 0.1% higher, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended down 0.7%, at a nine-month low, and South Korea's Kospi Composite closed down 0.6%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged down 0.1%, and China's Shanghai Composite edged down 0.5%.

In the U.S. Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 42.84 points, or 0.4%, at 12,004.36, its fourth gain in the last five sessions. For the week, the blue-chip index inched up 0.4%. That still left it down 6.3% since notching a three-year closing high on April 29.

Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 3.86 points, or 0.3%, to 1271.50, driven by gains in the financial, telecom and retail sectors. Energy stocks lagged as crude oil futures fell to a four-month low. The broad index barely snapped a six-week losing skid, rising 0.52 point for the week.

In foreign-exchange markets, the Greek debt crisis was the focus, with the euro suffering from news the E.U. has deferred details of the Greek package until July.

"All eyes remain on Greece, but news this morning that the Eurogroup's final decision on the country's second bailout package has been delayed until early July will result in more uncertainty filtering through markets," Crédit Agricole said. "Consequently the tone this week is likely to be cautious, with risk aversion remaining elevated."

At 0815 GMT, the single currency was fetching $1.4214, from $1.4302 late Friday in New York, and ¥113.95, from ¥114.51. The dollar was at ¥80.19, compared with ¥80.20.

The September German bund contract was up 0.48 at 126.55, while spot gold was at $1,538.50 per troy ounce, up 35 cents from its New York settlement on Friday. The August Nymex crude oil futures contract was down $1.62 at $91.78 a barrel.