Investing.com - European stock markets fell in thin trade on Thursday, as concerns over political uncertainty in Athens and the threat of a Greek exit from the euro zone continued to weigh on sentiment.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.77%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.66%, while Germany’s DAX 30 fell 0.47%.
Fears escalated over the effects of a possible Greek exit from the euro zone on other ailing nations, such as Italy and Spain, and after World Bank President Robert Zoellick said such an event could undermine confidence in the euro area and trigger another liquidity crisis.
In addition, the European Central Bank stopped providing liquidity to a number of Greek banks as they are severely undercapitalized, moving them to an emergency liquidity assistance program.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, led by French lender BNP Paribas, down 1.51% and closely followed by Dutch ING Group, whose shares declined 1.30%, and Italy’s Unicredit, down 1.18%.
Spain’s troubled lender, Bankia plunged 6.38% as El Mundo newspaper reported that the bank’s customers had taken out more than EUR1 billion euros from their accounts over the past week.
French Investment group Axa also contributed to losses, tumbling 0.99% after the company announced the opening of a representative office in Beijing.
Axa hopes to contribute to the rapid development of the asset management industry in China, where competition for assets is increasing and the range of investment options available to individuals and institutions is growing fast, according to reports.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.62% as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower.
Shares in Barclays plummeted 2.01% and Lloyds Banking declined 1.92%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland fell 0.96%.
HSBC Holdings, on the other hand, was up 0.07% after saying earlier that it cut costs by USD2 billion after one year of a 3-year turnaround plan, and is on target to meet its return on equity and other financial targets.
Meanwhile, mining giants Bhp Billiton and Rio Tinto dropped 0.74% and 0.44% respectively. Bhp Billiton said on Wednesday that it won’t meet its USD80 billion spending target for building mines and expanding assets over the next five years as it sees commodity prices declining.
Copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys were also on the downside, with shares declining 1.46% and 0.77%.
Elsewhere, shares in Aviva tumbled 1.57% after the U.K. insurer said it will conduct a strategic review of all its businesses and strengthen its capital base, in what may lead to the company's most important overhaul since 2007.
The statement came after the dramatic departure last week of Chief Executive Andrew Moss, who left after shareholders rejected the company's remuneration to its top executives and expressed their anger over a 60% drop in the share price since Moss became CEO in 2007.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to rise of 0.21%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.26% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.14% increase.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce government data on unemployment claims, followed by a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.
During European morning trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.77%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.66%, while Germany’s DAX 30 fell 0.47%.
Fears escalated over the effects of a possible Greek exit from the euro zone on other ailing nations, such as Italy and Spain, and after World Bank President Robert Zoellick said such an event could undermine confidence in the euro area and trigger another liquidity crisis.
In addition, the European Central Bank stopped providing liquidity to a number of Greek banks as they are severely undercapitalized, moving them to an emergency liquidity assistance program.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, led by French lender BNP Paribas, down 1.51% and closely followed by Dutch ING Group, whose shares declined 1.30%, and Italy’s Unicredit, down 1.18%.
Spain’s troubled lender, Bankia plunged 6.38% as El Mundo newspaper reported that the bank’s customers had taken out more than EUR1 billion euros from their accounts over the past week.
French Investment group Axa also contributed to losses, tumbling 0.99% after the company announced the opening of a representative office in Beijing.
Axa hopes to contribute to the rapid development of the asset management industry in China, where competition for assets is increasing and the range of investment options available to individuals and institutions is growing fast, according to reports.
In London, FTSE 100 declined 0.62% as U.K. lenders tracked their European counterparts lower.
Shares in Barclays plummeted 2.01% and Lloyds Banking declined 1.92%, while the Royal Bank of Scotland fell 0.96%.
HSBC Holdings, on the other hand, was up 0.07% after saying earlier that it cut costs by USD2 billion after one year of a 3-year turnaround plan, and is on target to meet its return on equity and other financial targets.
Meanwhile, mining giants Bhp Billiton and Rio Tinto dropped 0.74% and 0.44% respectively. Bhp Billiton said on Wednesday that it won’t meet its USD80 billion spending target for building mines and expanding assets over the next five years as it sees commodity prices declining.
Copper producers Xstrata and Kazakhmys were also on the downside, with shares declining 1.46% and 0.77%.
Elsewhere, shares in Aviva tumbled 1.57% after the U.K. insurer said it will conduct a strategic review of all its businesses and strengthen its capital base, in what may lead to the company's most important overhaul since 2007.
The statement came after the dramatic departure last week of Chief Executive Andrew Moss, who left after shareholders rejected the company's remuneration to its top executives and expressed their anger over a 60% drop in the share price since Moss became CEO in 2007.
In the U.S., equity markets pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to rise of 0.21%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.26% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.14% increase.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce government data on unemployment claims, followed by a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.