Prices down on IMF aid threat against Greece

Paris CAC: 3,917 (- 11.77) Frankfurt DAX: 7,114 (- 56.85) Eurostoxx 50: 2,799 (- 17.02):MOST EUROPEAN stocks retreated after the head of the group of euro-area finance ministers said the International Monetary Fund may not release its portion of an aid payment to Greece next month.

UniCredit SpA, Italy’s biggest bank, and Banco Espirito Santo SA, Portugal’s largest by market value, both lost more than 2 per cent. Burberry, the UK’s biggest luxury retailer, tumbled 4.6 per cent. Man Group jumped 2.5 per cent after the world’s biggest publicly traded hedge fund manager said profit fell less than it had previously forecast and client assets increased.

The Stoxx 600 declined 0.1 per cent to 277.14 at the 4.30pm close in London as three stocks fell for every two that climbed. The gauge has risen 5.7 per cent from this year’s low on March 16th as investors speculated that company profits and government stimulus measures will keep the economic recovery on track.

“Should Greece default, it is a problematic scenario for risky assets and for the financial system,” said Thomas Steinemann, chief strategist at Vontobel Holding AG in Zurich, whose team helps oversee about $80 billion. “It’s a story killer.”

National benchmark indexes dropped in 16 out of 18 west European countries today. The UK’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.2 per cent and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.3 per cent. Germany’s DAX slumped 0.8 per cent.

Burberry sank 4.6 per cent to 1,260 pence as the company said that its operating margin would probably fall in the first six months of the fiscal year. Burberry, best known for its plaid-lined trench coats, also reported that full-year adjusted pretax profit rose 39 per cent to £298 million. Burberry has soared 13 per cent this year, while the FTSE 100 Index has failed to advance more than 0.1 per cent.

Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the largest wind-turbine manufacturer, slumped 5.8 per cent to 145.60 kroner. SIG Plc sank 2.2 per cent to 148.1 pence after BofA Merrill Lynch cut its rating on the shares to “underperform” from “neutral”. Bayer AG fell 1.9 per cent to €54.71 after UBS AG cut its recommendation on the maker of aspirins to “neutral” from “buy”. Man Group jumped 2.5 per cent to 245 pence after saying full-year pretax profit from continuing operations dropped. – (Bloomberg)