Greek shares stumble after IMF pulls out of bailout talks

Greek markets tumbled Friday as investors reassessed their recent bout of optimism over the likelihood of a deal that would prevent the country from going bankrupt.The moves were stoked by the International Monetary Funds decision on Thursday to send its negotiators home from bailout talks with Greek officials in Brussels, citing a lack of progress.

 

Observers had been increasingly optimistic that a deal would be reached by the end of the month.The main Athens stock exchange was down 5.6 percent in late-afternoon trading, a day after it surged 8 percent on hopes of an imminent breakthrough that would unlock bailout funds that Greece needs to pay upcoming debts and avoid a default.

 

The news also weighed on European markets, with most indexes in the region lower. The Stoxx 50 index of the regions leading shares was down 0.9 percent.”The IMF unexpectedly blew a giant hole in the recent optimism,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

 

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