EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Waver As Greek Reforms Go Before Lenders For Approval

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- European stocks on Tuesday flailed around the flatline after hitting a seven-year high in the previous session, as investors wait to for European officials to respond economic-reform proposals submitted by Greece.

Greece was required to outline the reforms it plans to make before it can get a four-month extension to its 240-billion-euro ($273 billion) bailout funding. A European Commission official who has seen the six-page document told The Wall Street Journal (http://www.wsj.com/articles/greece-submits-reform-proposals-1424764737) the proposals include measures to "unify and streamline" Greece's pension policy.

Eurozone finance ministers are expected to hold a conference call Tuesday to discuss the proposals and approve them, if they meet requirements. The changes to the bailout program would then go to national European parliaments for a vote and "barring any surprises, should be done by the end of the week. So this chapter of the crisis could draw to an end," said Sue Trinh, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets, in a Tuesday note.

But she cautioned that "[n]othing is resolved, and things could flare up again by late April," when international lenders will review more detailed proposals from Greece. "But for now it feels as if we are close to a ceasefire."

Stocks: Greece's Athex Composite was up 6.3% to 908.10, outperforming the broader European equity market. Trading was closed Monday for a holiday. Beleaguered bank stocks were among the best performers on Tuesday, with National Bank of Greece SA surging 12%, Alpha Bank AE up 11.4% and Piraeus Bank SA higher by 10%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was up less than 1 point at 385.32 and has been swinging between small gains and losses. The benchmark on Monday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-higher-as-greek-bailout-extended-2015-02-23) closed at its best level since November 2007, after Greece on Friday reached the bailout-extension agreement.

Germany's DAX 30 fell 0.2% to 11,108.16, pulling back from Monday's close at a record high. The record high was the 15th of the year, according to FactSet.

France's CAC 40 shed 1 point to 4,859.73, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged up 3 points to 6,915.43. In London, shares of mining heavyweight BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) rose 2.9% after its fall in first-half profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bhp-profit-falls-as-commodity-prices-slide-2015-02-24) was less than analysts had anticipated.

Investors will watch for any comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who will speak at a currency unveiling in Frankfurt at around at 3 p.m. Central European Time, or 9 a.m. Eastern Time. Read more on central bank speakers for Tuesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-time-does-draghi-speak-on-tuesday-2015-02-24).

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