European stocks stable as Greek deadline nears

LONDON: European equities held steady on Monday as the Greek debt crisis showed no signs of abating, ahead of this week's key debt repayment deadline.

London's FTSE index of top companies slid 0.15 percent to 6,973.60 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 slipped 0.17 percent to 11,394 points, while the CAC 40 in Paris added 0.03 percent to 5,009.30 points compared with Friday's close.

The European single currency dipped to $1.0912 from $1.0991 late in New York on Friday.

The euro edged down as Greece's bailout reform talks plod on without an agreement in sight despite a deadline on Friday to pay the International Monetary Fund 300 million euros ($340 million) -- fuelling fears of a default that could see it leave the eurozone.

"The next week could be extremely important for markets this year, with Greece looking for a cash-for-reforms agreement by Friday in order to fund the latest 300-million-euro repayment to the IMF and the US releasing a whole host of data that could open or close the door to a rate hike in 2015," said analyst Craig Erlam at trading firm Alpari.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Sunday attacked the country's creditors for insisting on what he described as absurd reforms which have only held up progress in negotiations for a deal aimed at preventing a default.

"The lack of an agreement so far is not due to the supposed intransigent, uncompromising and incomprehensible Greek stance," Tsipras wrote in a column published by French newspaper Le Monde

Greece has been locked in talks with its creditors -- the European Union, the IMF and the European Central Bank -- in a bid to unlock 7.2 billion euros ($7.9 billion) in remaining bailout funds.

However, a deal has so far proved elusive as the creditors are demanding greater reforms in return for the cash, which Tsipras's government -- elected on an anti-austerity platform -- has refused to match.

"The new week begins as the last one ended, with Greece and its creditors still needing some sort of deal. The difference is we are 48 hours closer to the precipice," warned IG analyst Chris Beauchamp.

In Asia on Monday, Tokyo stocks chalked up a 12th straight gain -- their best run in more than a quarter of a century -- while Shanghai and Hong Kong rebounded as data indicated a pick-up in Chinese manufacturing.

Tokyo recovered from initial losses to end marginally higher, adding 6.72 points to 20,569.87 points. The 12 days of gains marked the best rally since 1988 at the height of Japan's stock market bubble.

Shanghai, which plunged almost seven percent over Thursday and Friday, jumped 4.71 percent. Hong Kong added 0.63 percent, but Sydney dropped 0.72 percent and Seoul fell 0.59 percent.