European stocks unsteady on poor data, Greek debt

LONDON, May 25 (AFP): European equities dipped on Wednesday, with investors unsettled by stagnant British economic growth, downbeat eurozone data and the outlook for the Greek debt crisis, dealers said. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index eased 0.10 per cent to 5,852.92 points in midday trade. Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed 0.17 per cent to 7,138.40 points and in Paris the CAC 40 index dipped 0.21 per cent to 3,908.73. The Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone companies slipped 0.15 per cent to 2,797.07 points. "Major equity markets remain unsettled on the back of downbeat economic newsflow and persistent worries over lack of policy unanimity in dealing with the eurozone debt and banking crisis," said Neil MacKinnon, analyst at VTB Capital financial group. The British economy expanded by 0.5 per cent in the first three months of 2011, unrevised official data showed on Wednesday, leaving economic activity broadly unchanged over the past six months. Investors were also rattled by Tuesday's news that eurozone industrial new orders slumped by 1.8 per cent in March following a slender 0.5-per cent gain the previous month, according to official data. And Germany's closely-tracked Ifo index of business sentiment showed that expectations for the coming six months were "somewhat dampened" at 107.4 compared with 107.7. "This is not earth-shattering but indicative of a possible cooling in Germany's export-led recovery, as well as a reminder that for the eurozone generally, growth prospects are dim given the contraction taking place in some of the so-called peripheral economies," MacKinnon noted on Wednesday. Aside from data, financial markets remain on edge over the spreading eurozone debt crisis.