European stocks decline as investors await Greek bailout talks

[FRANKFURT] European stocks declined amid investor concern that Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis won't reach an agreement on new bailout terms at a meeting with his euro- area counterparts in Brussels.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.3 per cent to 371.82 at 2.25 pm in London. The yield on three-year Greek notes jumped 115 basis points to 20.66 per cent, while the ASE Index lost 4.8 per cent, the most among 18 western-European markets. Benchmark equity indexes in Spain and Portugal slid at least 0.9 per cent.

"At the moment, it's still about the Greek story," said Benno Galliker, a trader at Luzerner Kantonalbank AG in Lucerne, Switzerland. "There will likely be some compromise but investors are waiting until there's a solution. There are still risks out there for equity investors, but they should be buying on the dips."

BLOOMBERG