European stocks slipped yesterday, pressured by Greece's worsening financial predicament, and eurozone government borrowing costs hit new lows.
US stocks were slightly lower, despite another flurry of better-than-expected profit reports, including ones from Netflix and Goldman Sachs.
German government bond yields fell to historic lows after the Financial Times reported that the International Monetary Fund rebuffed an informal request by Greek officials to delay loan repayments.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told Reuters yesterday he was “firmly optimistic” his government would reach an agreement with foreign creditors.
German 10-year note yields, a benchmark for European government borrowing costs, fell to a low of 0.072 per cent.
The widening rift between Greece and its creditors over a deal that would unlock funds for Athens and prevent a default hit European
Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded Greece late on Wednesday, and the country’s short-term bond yields soared to 27 per cent.
The EuroFirst300 index of Europe’s leading 300 shares was down 0.84 per cent at 1,638.
Treasuries yields were higher, with prices under pressure after the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s survey of economic activity came in reasonably strong, and Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer told CNBC that US inflation is headed towards the Fed’s target.
Global stock markets earlier touched a record high thanks to renewed strength in Asia, while crude oil fell back from new highs for the year reached after figures showed a decline in US production.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 10.95 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 18,101.66, the S&P 500 lost 1.88 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 2,104.75.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.93 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 5,007.09.
Crude oil edged off recent highs, with Brent crude down 0.7 per cent to $62.85 a barrel and US crude down 1.7 per cent to $55.44.
The Australian dollar hit a three-week high as stronger-than-expected Australian employment numbers reduced the likelihood of an interest rate cut in the next few months.
The Australian dollar was last up 1.4 per cent at $0.7790.
The euro was last 0.4 per cent higher at $1.0730.
The US dollar, which neared 121 yen at the start of the week, was little changed at 119.18 yen.