Europe: Stocks open lower before Greece talks

[LONDON] Europe's main stock markets opened lower on Friday as eurozone members prepared for crunch talks with Greece on a renegotiation of the country's bailout terms.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index dipped 0.05 per cent to 6,885.51 points compared with Thursday's close.

Frankfurt's DAX 30 fell 0.23 per cent to 10,976.77 points and the CAC 40 index in Paris lost 0.25 per cent to 4,821.38.

Finance ministers from the eurozone's 19 member countries will meet in Brussels on Friday to consider a proposal by Athens to extend its European loan programme, which expires at the end of the month.

Germany has firmly dismissed the request by Athens for a six-month extension to its EU loan programme, pouring doubt on whether the different sides can find a quick solution to an increasingly embittered debt row and avoid a potentially catastrophic exit by Greece from the euro.

AFP