Stock indices traded lower as concerns over Greece weighed on markets. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Sunday that the government will renegotiate austerity measures and a bailout programme.

Standard and Poor's has downgraded Greece's rating late Friday.

The Sentix investor confidence index for the Eurozone rose to 12.4 in February from 0.9 in January, exceeding expectations for an increase to 3.4.That was the highest level since February 2006.

The index benefited from a weaker euro and lower oil prices.

Germany's trade surplus widened to €21.8 billion in December from €17.9 billion in November, exceeding expectations for a rise to €18.2 billion. November's figure was revised up from a surplus of €17.7 billion.

The Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said in Istanbul on Monday that wage growth just started in the U.K.

Indexes on the close:

Name Price Change Change %

FTSE 100 6,837.15 -16.29 -0.24%

DAX 10,663.51 -182.88 -1.69%

CAC 40 4,651.08 -39.95 -0.85%

U.S. stock-index futures fell after Greece's prime minister reiterated pledges opposing the nation's bailout.

Global markets:

Nikkei 17,711.93 +63.43 +0.36%

Hang Seng 24,521 -158.39 -0.64%

Shanghai Composite 3,095.12 +19.22 +0.62%

FTSE 6,787.21 -66.23 -0.97%

CAC 4,618.52 -72.51 -1.55%

DAX 10,635.2 -211.19 -1.95%

Crude oil $52.43 (+1.43%)

Gold $1240.10 (+0.45%)

(company / ticker / price / change, % / volume)

Upgrades:

Downgrades:

Exxon Mobil (XOM) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus

Alcoa (AA) downgraded from Overweight to Neutral at JP Morgan, target lowered from $20 to $18.50

Other:

Apple (AAPL) target raised to $145 from $135 at Canaccord Genuit

Twitter (TWTR) target raised to $50 from $45 at Wunderlich

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) target lowered from $42 to $25 at Argus

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released its leading indicators on Monday. The composite leading indicator increased to 100.5 in December from 100.4 in November. It signalled stable growth in the United States, Canada, Japan, China and Brazil.

The index for the U.K. pointed to an easing in growth momentum.

Economic growth prospects have improved in the Eurozone.

The indicator for India indicates firming growth, while the index for Russia continues to point to a loss in growth momentum.

Germany's indicator rose to 99.7 in December from 99.6 in November. Italy's indicator climbed to 101.0 from 100.9.

The U.S. indicator remained unchanged at 100.4. China's reading increased to 99.3 from 99.1, while India's reading rose to 99.4 from 99.3.

Russia's indicator declined to 99.4 from 100.0, while UK's indicator decreased to 100.2 from 100.3.

European stocks recover slightly after they slumped sharply in early trading tracking losses on Wall Street and Asia on concerns over economic growth in China and worries that Greece heads for a showdown with the European Union.

Yesterday data showed that China's trade performance slumped far more than analysts expected. Chinese exports fell 3.3% and imports decreased by 19.9%.

Over the weekend Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsirpas ruled out any extension of the international bailout and reaffirmed that he will stick to his plan to roll back austerity measures. On late Friday Standard and Poor's downgraded Greece from B- to B, only one notch higher than "default" and kept the outlook for Greece negative. S&P warned that time is running out for Greece to reach an agreement. Moody's is reviewing its rating.

Today data on German Trade Balance was published. Germany's surplus widened in December from revised 17.9 billion to 21.8 billion, more than the 18.2 billion predicted by economists.

Eurozone's Sentix Investor Confidence Index for February improved to the highest level in 9-months. The index improved from a previous reading of 0.9 to 12.4, beating estimates of an increase to 3.0.

The FTSE 100 index is currently trading -0.72% quoted at 6,804.22 points. Germany's DAX 30 lost -1.66% trading at 10,666.56. France's CAC 40 is currently trading at 4,637.49 points, -1.14%.

European stocks slumped sharply in early trading tracking losses on Wall Street and Asia on concerns over economic growth in China and worries about developments in Greece. Yesterday data showed that China's trade performance slumped far more than analysts expected. Over the weekend Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsirpas ruled out any extension of the international bailout and reaffirmed that he will stick to his plan to roll back austerity measures. On late Friday Standard and Poor's downgraded Greece from B- to B, only one notch higher than "default" and kept the outlook for Greece negative. S&P warned that time is running out for Greece to reach an agreement.

Today data on German Trade Balance was published. Germany's surplus widened in December from revised 17.9 billion to 21.8 billion, more than the 18.2 billion predicted by economists.

The FTSE 100 index is currently trading -0.92% quoted at 6,790.65 points. Germany's DAX 30 dropped -1.74% trading at 10,657.73. France's CAC 40 slumped -1.32%, currently trading at 4,629.08 points.

U.S. markets declined on Friday on solid jobs data that fuelled speculations on a mid-year rate-hike. The U.S. economy added 257,000 jobs in January, exceeding expectations for a rise of 231,000 jobs, after a gain of 329,000 jobs in December. December's figure was revised up from a rise of 252,000 jobs. The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 5.7% in January from 5.6% in December as the number of job seekers grew. Analysts had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 5.6%. Average hourly earnings increased 0.5% in January, beating forecasts of a 0.2% gain, after a 0.2% drop in December.

Renewed worries over Greek debt negotiations weighed on the markets. On late Friday S&P downgraded Greece from B- to B, only one notch higher than "default" and kept the outlook for Greece negative.

The DOW JONES index lost -0.34% closing at 17,824.29 points. The S&P 500 declined by -0.34% with a final quote of 2,055.47 points. Still both indices registered strong gains for the week. The Dow Jones rose the most in one week since January 2013.

Chinese stocks were mixed on Monday after data on Chinese trade published on Sunday was far worse than analysts expected. Hong Kong's Hang Seng is trading -0.41% at 24,578.52 points. China's Shanghai Composite closed at 3,095.12 points +0.62%. Market participants bet on further monetary easing by the People's Bank of China as the economic slowdown further aggravates.

Japan's Nikkei added gains on Monday, closing +0.36% with a final quote of 17,711.93 points fuelled by strong U.S. jobs data but gains were limited by weak Chinese trade data.

(index / closing price / change items /% change)

S&P/ASX 200 5,820.17 +9.19 +0.16%

TOPIX 1,417.19 +7.08 +0.50%

SHANGHAI COMP 3,076.64 -59.89 -1.91%

HANG SENG 24,679.39 -86.10 -0.35%

FTSE 100 6,853.44-12.49 -0.18%

CAC 40 4,691.03-12.27 -0.26%

Xetra DAX 10,846.39 -59.02 -0.54%

S&P 500 2,055.47 -7.05 -0.34%

NASDAQ Composite 4,744.4 -20.70 -0.43%

Dow Jones 17,824.29 -60.59 -0.34%