European markets are mixed, as a two-day summit of European Union leaders gets underway
Asian markets pared
recent gains today, as
negotiations over Greece's debt crisis stalled. In China, the Shanghai Composite saw a slight bid higher on news the country will attempt to stimulate lending by removing its loan-to-deposit ratio. However, the index couldn't maintain the momentum, eventually settling with a steep 3.5% loss. Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gave back 1%, Japan's Nikkei shed 0.5% amid a round of profit-taking, and South Korea's Kospi ended modestly lower -- despite the Bank of Korea unveiling a new $13 billion stimulus program.
European benchmarks are mixed at midday, as traders keep a close eye trained on the latest developments in Greece. It's been a tense week of talks, with yesterday's Eurogroup meeting ending prematurely after Greece's creditors said the country -- which is scheduled to meet its $1.8 billion debt obligation next Tuesday -- must agree to budget cuts and policy changes. In focus today will be a two-day summit of European Union leaders. Against this backdrop, the German DAX and the French CAC 40 are both flirting with 0.1% leads, while London's FTSE 100 is down 0.2%.
