(Bloomberg) -- European stocks were little changed as euro-area finance ministers prepared to meet in Brussels to seek agreement on Greece’s bailout funding.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped less than 0.1 percent to 381.27 at 8:33 a.m. in London. Shares extended a seven-year high on Thursday amid optimism Greece will reach a deal with euro-area creditors. The ASE Index climbed 0.7 percent today.
The Stoxx 600 has surged 11 percent this year, even as volatility has increased after Greece elected a new government that is now renegotiating the terms of its aid package. The VStoxx Index, which tracks expectations for equity swings, has had a daily average of 25.4 in 2015. That’s 40 percent greater than in 2014.
Euro-area finance ministers hold emergency talks with Greek officials today amid growing pressure to find a compromise on maintaining funding to the indebted country. German leaders regard a proposal submitted by Greece to fellow euro-region governments as a basis for negotiations and don’t necessarily see a need for a fresh submission, according to a government official who
asked not to be named because the discussions are private.
Investors will also watch economic data. A preliminary purchasing managers’ index will show euro-area services and manufacturing continued to expand in February, economists forecast.
A gauge of energy stocks posted the biggest advance of the 19 industry groups on the Stoxx 600 as oil trimmed its first weekly decline in a month. Premier Oil Plc led gains with a 3.3 percent rise.
Among stocks moving on corporate news, Danone fell 1.8 percent. The world’s biggest yogurt maker set a lower sales forecast for 2015 than last year’s amid deflationary pressure in Europe and weakening currencies in emerging markets.