London--Europe's main stock markets mostly slid Monday as the banking sector took a hit from concerns over Greece's unresolved crisis, dealers said.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of top companies shed 0.15 percent to 6,950.12 points in afternoon deals while in Paris, the CAC 40 index fell 0.32 percent to 4,978.04 points.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 bucked the trend, rising 0.57 percent to 11,512.33 points compared with the close on Friday.
Athens stocks shed 1.84 percent, while Milan dived 1.48 percent in value.
"Greek banks are running short on collateral and there are mounting concerns that the country may be forced to implement capital controls if a deal cannot be reached quickly -- which is weighing on sentiment and driving Greek equities lower and borrowing costs higher," said Rebecca O'Keeffe, head of investment at online stockbroker Interactive Investor.
Banking shares fell across Europe in afternoon deals. Britain's Lloyds shed 1.31 percent to 87.83 pence in London, while Commerzbank dropped 1.35 percent to 12.39 euros in Frankfurt.
French pair Credit Agricole and Societe Generale saw their share prices slide 2.88 percent and 2.28 percent, to stand at 13.81 euros and 43.63 euros, respectively.
Greece wants to reach a loan deal with its EU-IMF creditors by the end of May to resolve an acute cash shortage, the government said Monday.
Greece's new radical Syriza-led government and its EU-IMF creditors have been stuck in a deadlock for four months over the reforms needed to release a final 7.2 billion euros ($8.2 billion) in bailout funds.
The delay has led to concerns Athens is running critically short of cash and may soon end up defaulting, which could set off a messy exit from the euro.
Over the weekend, Greek newspapers reported that the country came close to not making a 750-million-euro debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund last week.
AFP
