Qatar Holding sold guarantees in Barclays

European stock indices weakened on Monday under the pressure of profit-taking, with the banking sector leading the losers, further pressured by Qatar’s decision to sell its remaining guarantees in the British bank Barclays.

The London FTSE fell by 0.56 percent to 5,786 points, the Frankfurt DAX by 0.35 percent to 7,283 points, while the Paris CAC was down 0.68 percent at 3,504 points.
The market was on alert due to negotiations on unfreezing the tranche of aid for Greece, although analysts note that optimistic signals from officials indicate a positive outcome from today’s meeting of Eurozone finance ministers and representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Thus, the Vice President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Vitor Constancio stated that he expects creditors to reach an agreement on further aid for Greece on Monday, noting, however, that it will not include the write-off of claims from Eurozone governments.

Eurozone ministers and their deputies held numerous meetings and conference calls over the past two weeks to determine a modus for reducing Greek debt to a sustainable level, but the lack of agreement prevented the unfreezing of funds.
Andy Lynch from Schroders stated that he is not concerned about Greece as its creditors are trying to find a solution. He assessed that today’s decline in stock values is mainly a result of profit-taking.

– Last week was very good for the markets, and it seems that investors are taking a breather ahead of the Eurozone ministers’ meeting. There is a certain caution present, but it is also clear that Greek creditors will not allow the country to go bankrupt – said Koen De Leus, a senior economist at KBC in Brussels.

Among the losers, the banking sector stood out, which weakened by an average of 1.1 percent, pressured by a 4.1 percent drop in the value of British Barclays after Qatar Holding announced on Sunday that it had sold its remaining guarantees in that British bank. These are instruments that can be converted into shares.

Among the losers was the German steel producer ThyssenKrupp, which lost 4.9 percent in value after Credit Suisse downgraded its investment rating and reports that it may be forced to sell its steel mills in the USA and Brazil next year. The Tokyo Stock Exchange index Nikkei rose by 0.24 percent to 9,388 points.