(MENAFN- AFP) European equity markets retreated Wednesday, with Athens stocks sliding ahead of an emergency meeting of eurozone finance ministers at which Greece will unveil controversial proposals to overhaul its bailout.
Greece's benchmark stocks index was down 2.96 percent around midday amid investor fears that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's hardline stance could set Greece on a path leading to its exit from the eurozone.
Elsewhere, London's FTSE 100 was down 0.14 percent to 6,819.31 points and Frankfurt's DAX 30 slipped 0.12 percent to 10,741.12 points.
In Paris, the CAC 40 index shed 0.47 percent to stand at 4,673.79 compared with Tuesday's close.
The euro dipped to $1.1310 from $1.1315 late on Tuesday in New York.
"All eyes remain on developments... as eurozone officials meet to discuss the intensifying heat between the new anti-austerity government in Greece and the powerhouses of Europe," said Philip Ryan, senior corporate dealer at Currencies Direct.
Tsipras told parliament late Tuesday he would not bow to German demands that his leftist government complete a pending loan agreement with the EU and the IMF before rethinking the terms of the 240 billion euro ($270 billion) bailout that Greece accepted during Europe's debt crisis.
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis was due in Brussels to present a 10-point plan aimed at securing stop-gap financing that would tide the country over while it negotiates new terms to be put in place from September 1.
In Athens, Tsipras on Wednesday announced plans to work with the OECD to draft a programme of reforms to boost growth in the debt-laden country.
The programme will be based "not on what was previously decided but on popular mandate", he told a news conference after meeting Angel Gurria, head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
On the corporate front, shares in Sky slumped 4.25 percent to 913.50 pence, making it the biggest loser on the FTSE, one day after the satellite pay-TV group was forced to spend massively to retain exclusive live coverage of Premier League football.
Sky and broadcasting rival BT won the UK television rights to show Premier League games for three seasons at a record cost of £5.1 billion ($7.8 billion, 6.9 billion euros).
The 70 percent price hike is the result of a ferocious bidding war between the pair. Sky will pay £4.2 billion for five of the seven packages and BT almost £1.0 billion for the remainder.
"BT has come out of the bidding in far greater shape than Sky as it has managed to maintain its share of coverage while avoiding the 70 percent increase in fees that Sky has had to fork out," said Alastair McCaig, market analyst at IG trading group.
Shares in BT were up 2.75 percent to 456 pence in Wednesday deals.
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