Euro stocks lower on profit taking and Greek unknowns; DAX slips 0.07 %

Investing.com – European shares dropped from 5 month highs on Greek debt fears and end of week profit taking.  

After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 gave back 0.21%, France's CAC 40 dropped 0.13%, while Germany's DAX slipped 0.07%.
Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 fell 0.20%.  

Yesterday, yields fell on all maturities as Spain auctioned EUR7.97billion of two, three, and four year notes in its first sale of medium and long term debt since losing its AAA rating last week.  

Spain sold EUR6.6billion of bonds maturing in 2016, 2019 and 2022 beating the maximum target of EUR4.5billion. Yields on the 2019 and 2022 dropped, but borrowing costs increased on the 2016's.  

Earlier, The European Central Bank fueled the optimism by stating that it has a whole range of unconventional measures to manage the debt crisis.  

U.S. existing home sales climbed 5% last month signaling improvement in the world's largest economy but missed analyst's estimates.  

In addition, sales are still well below the 6 million most economists equate with a healthy housing market.  

Withold Bahrke, of PFA Pension, told Bloomberg, "Most indexes have already risen as much as they were expected to for the whole year, so naturally investors are a bit cautious."  

While rumors have surfaced that the Greek government and its creditors have reached an initial agreement for a voluntary debt swap, they remain unconfirmed at this time.  

BP gave back 3% on falling crude oil prices, while Petrofac dropped 4.6% on a JP Morgan Chase downgrade.  

Saint Gobain dropped 1.7% on selling in the construction sector.  

In bullish news, the National Bank of Greece climbed 5% on debt talk hopes.  

U.S. stocks were mixed mid session with the Dow30 up 0.39%, the S&P500 off by 0.35% and the Nasdaq down 0.26%.  

Investors are awaiting the FOMC meeting on Tuesday.