(MENAFN- AFP) European equity markets mostly retreated Wednesday, with Athens stocks sliding ahead of an emergency meeting of eurozone finance ministers where Greece will unveil controversial proposals to overhaul its bailout.
Greece's benchmark stocks index was down 4.2 percent in afternoon trading with investors fearful 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 0.48 percent to 6,796.33 points and in Paris, the CAC 40 index shed 0.23 percent compared with Tuesday's close to stand at 4,685.06.
However Frankfurt's DAX 30 bucked the trend with a slim gain of 0.07 percent to 10,761.63 points.
The euro dipped to $1.1312 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 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 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 Cooperation and Development.
- Sky falls -
On the corporate front, shares in Sky slumped 2.62 percent to 929 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 2.88 percent to 456.60 pence.
US shares opened mostly down, showing caution ahead of the outcome of the eurozone meeting on Greece.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.25 to 17,824.63 points after five minutes of trading.
The broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.09 percent to 2,066.66, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.08 percent to 4,791.63.
Asian equities mostly gained on Wednesday, still under the influence of hopes for a Greek deal that had helped push up European stocks on Tuesday.
Seoul rose 0.51 percent and Shanghai added 0.51 percent. Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta and Taipei all gained.
However, Sydney skidded 0.54 percent and Hong Kong closed 0.87 percent lower.
Tokyo was closed for a public holiday.<
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