European Stocks Fall Sharply as Greek Debt Deal Still Is Elusive

London (Jun 15)  European stock indices fell sharply on Monday after the failure of the latest attempt to forge an agreement between Greece and its international creditors.

A Sunday meeting -- which had previously been billed as a last-ditch attempt to hammer out an accord to stop Greece defaulting on a €1.5 billion ($1.68 billion) payment due to the International Monetary Fund by month-end -- lasted less than an hour. Talks will resume when finance ministers meet in Luxembourg on Thursday. Some see the meeting as the last attempt to reach a compromise and avoid a Greek default and the country's ultimate exit from the eurozone.

The Athens General Index was down 4.63% by late morning local time, with National Bank of Greece (NBG - Get Report) and Bank of Piraeus (BPIRF) leading the index lower.

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In Frankfurt, the DAX was down 1.19% at 11,063.56. In Paris, the CAC 40 was down 0.82% at 4,862.76. In London, the FTSE 100 fell 0.70% to 6.737.17.

At 3 p.m. in Brussels, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will make a quarterly statement to the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee. His comments will be closely watched, especially on the impact of the Greek crisis on the wider eurozone.

In Frankfurt, Metro (MTAGF) slumped after reaching a €2.8 billion deal to sell its Kaufhof department-store chain to Canada's Hudson's Bay. Metro investors had hoped that the disposal -- the result of on-off efforts to sell the business stretching back several years -- would result in a special dividend, but the seller will use the proceeds to cut debt.

Acquisitive apartments owner Deutsche Annington Immobilien fell after agreeing to spend €1.9 billion buying residential real estate peer Sudewo from Patrizia Immobilien. Shares in the seller rose in Frankfurt and Zurich.

Source: TheStreet