Eurozone stocks to close down as Merkel Greece visit opposed

The main European stock indices look set to close lower as Angela Merkel’s Greek visit is marked by protests.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

The major eurozone stock indices look set to close trading down today (October 9th), as the German chancellor's visit to Greece is met with protests.

Angela Merkel's arrival in the debt-addled nation's capital city was marked by demonstrations by tens of thousands of opponents to the severe budget cuts the Greek government is obliged to implement in order for it to receive essential bailout funding from its single currency region partners.

Ms Merkel has been personally blamed by many of the protestors for forcing the austerity measures on the nation in exchange for two European Union and International Monetary Fund bailout packaged worth €200 billion (£161.3 billion).

During her visit to Athens, Ms Merkel is keen to show her support for Antonis Samaras, the Greek prime minister, as he works to impose more cuts to secure the funding.

At 16:35 BST, all the main European benchmarks were down, with the German Dax index sliding 0.9 per cent to 7222.4 points and the Madrid Ibex losing 1.8 per cent to 7741.9 points.

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