European Sentiment Sours
European investors are getting antsy again after Monday’s quiet morning session. Stocks are losing their earlier gains partly as concerns mount about how banks and insurers will affected by possible sovereign-debt problems in Europe.
U.S. stock futures are also pointing to a flat, or even lower, open. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index is now down about 0.2% after rising nearly 1% earlier; shares in Athens and Lisbon have also turned squarely downward.
Meanwhile, prices of bonds issued by governments on Europe’s periphery are showing some signs of weakness, and the euro is trading at $1.3685 against the dollar from $1.3718 earlier. Shares of European banks are smarting again Monday, along with insurers, which often have big bond portfolios. French banks Credit Agricole and Societe Generale are both down around 1%, while Switzerland’s Swiss Reinsurance Co. is down over 4%. In the U.K., insurer Aviva is down 3.6% while Legal & General has lost 4%.
