The European markets are in negative territory on Monday, ahead of a European Union summit starting later this week. The Asian markets ended lower as growth worries continued.
A two-day meeting of European Union leaders is starting in Brussels Thursday, which may discuss specific steps to ease the stress in Spain's banking sector. Greece's new Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, recovering from an eye surgery, will be unable to attend the summit owing to health issues.
Meanwhile, investment guru George Soros said in an interview with Bloomberg that drastic measures need to be taken at the summit, or else the euro currency may cease to exist. He called on Europe to purchase bonds issued by Italy and Spain, adding that a European Fiscal Authority needs to be set up to purchase the debt of those countries implementing possible budget cuts.
The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is declining 1.87 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is falling 0.87 percent.
The German DAX is declining 1.65 percent and the French CAC 40 is dropping 1.75 percent. The UK's FTSE 100 is losing 0.55 percent and Switzerland's SMI is falling 0.87 percent.
In Frankfurt, ThyssenKrupp is losing 4.3 percent. Deutsche Bank is falling 2.9 percent and Commerzbank is receding 1.9 percent.
Barclays initiated Beiersdorf with an "Underweight" rating. The stock is falling 1.2 percent.
RWE and E.ON are losing around 2.4 percent each. Metro is declining 2.6 percent.
Barclays started Henkel with an "Overweight" rating. The stock is dropping 0.9 percent.
Daimler, Volkswagen and MAN are notably lower, while BMW is down 0.7 percent. Media reports said that Japan's Toyota and BMW are planning to expand their existing tie-up for green car technology and diesel engines. However, Toyota said the reports were not based on official announcements.
Goldman Sachs added Allianz to "Conviction Buy" from "Buy." Shares are down 1.8 percent.
In Paris, BNP Paribas is declining 4 percent. Societe Generale is dropping 3.5 percent and Credit Agricole is losing 2.9 percent. Insurer Axa is falling 3.6 percent.
Peugeot and Renault are retreating 3.7 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.
Barclays initiated Loreal with an "Overweight" rating. The stock is falling 1.1 percent.
UBS removed Danone from 'Most Preferred List." Shares of the dairy giant are declining 1.8 percent.
Technip, which announced a contract win, is losing 0.5 percent.
Bucking the downtrend, EADS is climbing 1.9 percent.
In London, Shire is declining 12.5 percent after the U.S. FDA approved a generic version of its hyperactivity drug Adderall XR meant to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Barclays is falling 1.4 percent, Lloyds Banking is losing 1.6 percent and Royal Bank of Scotland is declining 1.3 percent. Standard Chartered is dropping 1.8 percent.
SAB Miller is losing 1.7 percent after reports emerged that Belgian brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev is nearing a deal to buy the remainder of Mexico's Grupo Modelo SAB, owner of the Corona Extra beer, for over $12 billion. Anheuser-Busch InBev is climbing 2.6 percent in Brussels.
Essar Energy is declining 7.5 percent after reporting a pre-tax loss for the 15 month-period ended March 31.
Wm. Morrison Supermarkets is losing 2.1 percent. The firm said its said Group Finance Director Richard Pennycook intends to step down from the Board and leave Morrisons at the end of June 2013 to concentrate on building a portfolio career.
Vestas is up 0.5 percent in Copenhagen. The Danish wind turbine maker has decided to phase out the production of the kilowatt platform, including the V52-850 kW and V60-850 kW turbines. As a result, Vestas will terminate the production at its factory in Hohhot, China, where 300-350 employees will be made redundant.
Across Asia/Pacific, major markets ended lower. Australia's All Ordinaries and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped around 0.5 percent each. China's Shanghai Composite Index retreated 1.6 percent, and Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.7 percent.
In the U.S., futures point to a lower open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the major averages pulled back off their highs going into the close but still ended the day firmly in positive territory, benefiting from bargain-hunting. The Dow rose 0.5 percent, the Nasdaq jumped 1.2 percent and the S&P 500 climbed 0.7 percent.
In the commodity space, crude for August delivery is sliding $0.77 at $78.99 per barrel while August gold is gaining $1.4 to $1568.3 a troy ounce.
by RTT Staff Writer
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