European stocks slide with all eyes on Greece

Europe's main stock markets fell Tuesday as investors tracked the latest news flow on stalled Greek debt talks, while HSBC bank slid on revelations of a radical overhaul.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 index sank 1.27 percent to stand at 10,923 points in early afternoon deals and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.58 percent to 4,829.30.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 dipped 0.35 percent to 6,766.10 points compared with Monday's close.

Shares in bank giant HSBC dived 1.07 percent to 612.90 pence in London, as investors also digested drastic job cuts aimed at saving up to $5.0 billion in annual costs by late 2017.

Athens meanwhile remains locked in a standoff with the European Union over a deal to release 7.2 billion euros ($8.1 billion) of remaining bailout funds as the country faces huge debt repayments to the IMF at the end of the month.
"European stocks are once again heading lower as investor concerns grow about the prospects of Greece actually leaving the eurozone," said technical analyst Fawad Razaqzada at trading site Forex.com.

"Though such an outcome in our view is still unlikely, the probability of it becoming a reality is increasing as each day goes by without a deal being agreed upon."

The euro stood at $1.1293, unchanged from late on Monday in New York.

- Athens submits new plan -

Greece submitted a promised reform plan to its EU-IMF creditors Tuesday, a day before Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is due to discuss how to end Athens's debt crisis with the French and German leaders, European sources said.

Creditors "are now in the process of studying" the list of "counter-proposals", which arrived two days after European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker complained Tsipras had not fulfilled a pledge made at a meeting last week to send Brussels the plans, one source told AFP.
One major Greek proposal was an idea, first floated by Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, for debt held by the European Central Bank to be transferred to the eurozone's crisis-fighting fund, the European Stability Mechanism, which is widely seen as softer, another source said.

The move would effectively delay two huge payments owed by Greece to the ECB this summer, allowing nearly-broke Athens urgently needed breathing space.

"Currently the focus of market attention is the eurozone and Greece," added CurrenciesDirect analyst Amir Khan.

"With negotiations reaching a stubborn stalemate, European leaders at the G7 meeting have piled further pressure on Greece by calling for the country to accept a slew of unpopular reforms."

US President Barack Obama also weighed in Monday, telling Greeks they need to make tough choices to save their country from a default and possible messy euro exit.

Obama said after a meeting with fellow G7 leaders that there is a "sense of urgency in finding a path to resolve the situation."

- Istanbul rebounds -

Meanwhile, Turkey's markets were calmer Tuesday following a tumultuous first day of trading after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its parliamentary majority in weekend elections, ushering in a new period of uncertainty.

Turkey's main stock index added 0.55 percent, rebounding slightly after losing 5.0 percent on Monday, while the Turkish lira was flat at 2.75 lira to the dollar.
Asian equity markets fell Tuesday, with Shanghai and Hong Kong hit by another weak batch of indicators.

Shanghai closed down 0.36 percent and Hong Kong lost 1.20 percent in value.

Tokyo tumbled 1.76 percent and Sydney dropped 0.49 percent.

China's National Bureau of Statistics said the consumer price index came in at 1.2 percent in May, down from April's 1.5 percent.

The figure is the latest showing signs of weakness in the world's second biggest economy and reignites worries about the country slipping into a painful spiral of deflation, which could further drag on any recovery.