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London - Europe's leading stock markets slid Thursday as traders awaited the outcome of yet more talks between Greece and its creditors.
In afternoon trading London's benchmark FTSE 100 index showed a drop of 0.31% to 6 823.45 points.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 index slipped 0.11% to 11 458.83 points and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.68% to 5 011.22 points compared with Wednesday's close.
Meanwhile, Athens' main index shot up 1.25%.
Earlier optimism in European markets that some sort of deal would be worked out were dashed by comments from Germany's influential finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble ahead of a Eurogroup meeting.
"The Greeks have rather made steps backward. Positions are even further apart rather than narrowing," he said.
The latest round of crunch talks between Greece and its creditors early on Thursday failed to produce a breakthrough on what tax and spending measures Athens needs to undertake to unlock a final €7.2bn in bailout funds.
In the end proposals of both Greece and its EU and IMF creditors were submitted to a meeting of eurozone finance ministers.
It had been hoped the ministers would be able to approve a deal, which could then be rubber-stamped by national leaders gathering for a European Union summit on Thursday and Friday.
Greece needs a quick deal as it does not have the €1.5bn needed due to the IMF on June 30.
A payment default could set off a chain of events resulting in Greece exiting the euro and even the EU.
As talks drag on, the ECB earlier this week had increased its emergency liquidity funds for Greece's troubled banks.
In foreign exchange trading on Thursday, the euro slid to $1.1204 from $1.1208 late in New York on Wednesday.
"In the absence of a deal, the pressure on both the Greek banking system and the euro is likely to build," said Phil McHugh, a trading floor manager at Currencies Direct.
The dollar has recently attracted funds also as the US Federal Reserve is expected to raise key interest rates as early as in September.
Elsewhere, Britain's Conservative government said it planned to privatise its 'green' investment bank that was set up three years ago to financially support environmentally-friendly infrastructure.
Finance minister George Osborne said the money raised from selling shares in the bank would be used to reduce the country's national debt.
Swedish appliance giant Electrolux meanwhile denied a report that its American chairman Keith McLoughlin was resigning to reunite with his family in the United States.
McLoughlin has led Electrolux since 2011 and oversaw its decision last year to acquire US company GE Appliances for $3.3bn.
Electrolux stocks were trading down 2.2% in Stockholm deals on Thursday.
Asian markets turned negative Thursday, playing catch up with losses across Wall Street and Europe a day earlier.
Tokyo slipped 0.46%, Sydney shed 0.95%, Hong Kong also ended 0.95% lower, while Seoul was essentially flat.
However Shanghai tumbled 3.46% as investors take profits after a surge of more than 140% in share prices over the past year, while a crackdown on margin trading has also seen a wind-down in trading.
Wall St stocks opened higher Thursday following a strong report on US consumer spending even as talks in Brussels to avert a Greek debt default remained stalled.
Seven minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had climbed 0.34% to 18 027.49.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.27% to 2 114.36, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.30% to 5 137.91.
Consumer spending, the main driver of the economy, jumped a stronger-than-expected 0.9% in May, the sharpest growth since August 2009, according to Commerce Department data.
