European Markets Finished Mostly Lower As Worries Over Greece Persist

(RTTNews) - The majority of the European markets ended Wednesday's session in negative territory. Concerns over Greece overshadowed positive earnings reports from the Eurozone and the U.S., as well as the larger than expected rise in German consumer confidence.

The Greek stock market dropped for a third consecutive session Wednesday. The decline was lead by Greek bank stocks, which are down by about 40 percent since Sunday's election.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras held his first cabinet meeting with the new Greek government today. Tsipras reiterated his intention to re-negotiate the country's debt repayment with international creditors and his plans to increase the Greek minimum wage.

Switzerland's economy is set to contract this year owing to the 'franc-shock' and falling oil prices, the KOF Swiss Economic Institute said Wednesday. The Zurich-based think-tank slashed the growth projection for this year to -0.5 percent from 1.9 percent seen in December. The forecast for next year was cut to zero from 2.1 percent.

Growth was estimated at 2 percent for 2014, a tad above the December projection of 1.9 percent. "The Swiss economy is expected to experience a short recession in the summer semester of 2015," KOF said.

The quantitative easing program of the European Central Bank will boost economic growth in Italy, Bank of Italy's Deputy Governor Fabio Panetta said Tuesday. The bond purchase program announced by the ECB will contribute significantly to raise the growth in the next two years. It will provide space for reforms, he said.

Investors will be watching for the release of the Federal Reserve's policy statement later today, upon the conclusion of its 2-day meeting. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but traders will keep a close eye on any changes to the accompanying statement.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks decreased 0.64 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.43 percent.

The DAX of Germany increased by 0.78 percent and the FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 0.21 percent. The CAC 40 of France fell by 0.29 percent and the SMI of Switzerland declined by 1.09 percent.

In Frankfurt, Siemens tumbled by 4.97 percent, a day after the industrial conglomerate posted lower profits at its industrial units.

Software AG shares climbed by 2.34 percent. The business software firm reported fourth-quarter net income of 47.4 million euros, up from 46.9 million euros in the same quarter last year, even as revenues dropped.

Commerzbank decreased by 3.39 percent and Deutsche Bank lost 1.12 percent.

In Paris, Credit Agricole fell by 1.82 percent. BNP Paribas dropped by 2.75 percent and Societe Generale lost 2.75 percent.

Total declined by 1.78 percent and Technip finished down by 0.25 percent.

In London, ARM Holdings gained 1.75 percent, after Apple posted a record $18 billion profit in the first quarter on the sale of 74.5 million iPhones.

Experian climbed by 1.63 percent, after it announced a $600 million share repurchase plan.

Anglo American rose by 2.29 percent, after it reported a 16 percent increase in fourth quarter iron-ore production.

However, Antofagasta dropped by 2.88 percent. The miner announced 2015 production and cost estimates that fell short of expectations.

Johnson Matthey declined by 3.20 percent. The company announced that the drop in oil prices has had an impact on investments in chemical plants.

InterContinental Hotels Group fell by 2.46 percent. Deutsche Bank lowered its rating on the stock to "Hold" from "Buy."

Roche Holding declined by 2.18 percent in Zurich, as it reported lower profit in its fiscal 2014, hurt by debt restructuring, impairments and restructuring costs.

Electrolux surged by 10.87 percent in Stockholm, after the home-appliance maker swung to a profit in the fourth quarter and forecast decent market growth on both sides of the North Atlantic this year.

Likewise, Nordea Bank AB climbed by 8.75 percent, after posting Q4 results, in line with forecasts, and raising its dividend.

Germany's consumer confidence improved strongly to a 13-year high at the start of the year, as a collapse in energy prices boosted disposable income and raised room for more spending, survey data from the GfK showed Wednesday.

The forward-looking consumer confidence index rose more-than-expected to 9.3 in February from 9.0 in January. This was the highest value since November 2001, when the score was at 9.6. The February reading was expected to rise marginally to 9.1.

Germany's import prices declined at a faster-than-expected pace in December, figures from the statistical office Destatis showed Wednesday. The import price index fell 3.7 percent year-on-year in December, faster than November's 2.1 percent decline. Economists had forecast a 3.4 percent decrease for the month.

The German government lifted its growth projections for this year citing robust consumer spending. The economy ministry expects the largest Eurozone economy to expand 1.5 percent this year, up from the prior estimate of 1.3 percent.

France's consumer confidence remained stable in January, defying expectations for a rise, data from statistical office INSEE showed Wednesday. The consumer confidence index came in at 90 in January, the same as in December. This was less than the 91 score expected by economists.

Unemployment hit a record high in December, data from the Labour Ministry showed Tuesday. The number of unemployed people rose 0.2 percent or by 8,100 over the previous month to 3,496,400 in December.

A leading index, which measures the future economic activity in France, remained unchanged in November, survey figures from Conference Board showed Tuesday.

The Conference Board's leading economic index showed no variations in November, following a revised 0.1 percent increase in October. Out of the seven components, five of them contributed positively to the index.