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Monday, January 5, 2015

European stocks drop, euro hits nine-year low

Source: www.businessinsider.com - Monday, January 05, 2015 London (AFP) - European stock markets fell on Monday and the euro struck a nine-year low against the dollar with the ECB appearing on course to further prop up the eurozone. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index slid 0.12 percent to stand at 6,495.17 points approaching midday in the British capital. Frankfurt's DAX 30 dropped 0.42 percent to 9,723.25 points and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.72 percent to 4,221.69 compared with Friday's close. The euro slumped to $1.1864, the lowest level since March 2006, before recovering to $1.1922. That compared with $1.2002 late on Friday in New York. "It’s a new year but it’s the same old story... Eurozone jitters get markets wobbling again," said Jonathan Sudaria, a dealer at London Capital Group. French President Francois Hollande on Monday urged Greece to abide by its European commitments, as the spectre of a Greek exit from the eurozone rears its head again. Hollande's comments came amid fresh political turmoil in Greece ahead of an election on January 25 that could be won by a far-left party. Over the weekend, the Der Spiegel weekly quoted German government sources as saying that Berlin sees a Greek exit from the eurozone as "almost inevitable" should the radical leftist Syriza party win the snap poll. The euro's losses meanwhile added to a sell-off on Friday that came in response to an interview with European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi in German business daily Handelsblatt. "The euro hitAll Related


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