Updated on
Summary European stock markets closed lower as investors took a critical look at eurozone debt rescue plan.
Dealers said some consolidation was only to be expected given the advances of five percent and more in some centres on Thursday after EU leaders agreed to cut Greek debt, bolster the banks and strengthen a eurozone bailout fund.They said sentiment overall is positive on the hard-won deal but the market now wants to see specific details of how and when it will be implemented, with all eyes on Italy especially to make good on its promises to do better.Eurozone politicians were very successful in putting a positive spin on this weeks summit but there are still significant potential pitfalls in the road ahead, said Jane Foley, senior currency analyst at Rabobank.Rome, significantly, had to pay higher rates above the key red-line level of 6.0 percent to investors on Friday to raise fresh funds -- not a good sign, analysts said.In London, the FTSE-100 index of top companies slipped 0.20 percent to 5,702.24 points. In Paris, the CAC-40 fell 0.59 percent to 3,348.63 points but in Frankfurt the DAX 30 edged up 0.13 percent to 6,364.18 points.Other European markets were also mostly lower.The euro meanwhile eased to $1.4164 from $1.4187 on Thursday, when the European single currency hit a seven-week high of $1.4247 on the EU debt deal.The dollar fell to 75.75 yen from 75.94 yen, while gold advanced to $1,730 an ounce from $1,718.In New York, the market was flat at around 1600 GMT as investors digested Thursdays gain of 2.9 percent.
