EUROPE MARKETS: European Stocks Set To Break Five-session Winning Streak

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Greece's Athex on track for lowest close since 2012

Europe's benchmark stock index dropped for the first time in six sessions on Tuesday, with Greek stocks remaining under sharp selling pressure on their second trading day after the market reopen.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.4% to 397.92, after closing at its highest level since July 22 on Monday.

Greek weakness: Greece's Athex Composite index slumped 3.8% to 643.04, setting it on track for the lowest close since Aug. 2012. The benchmark started trading for the first time in five weeks on Monday, after being halted for all of July while the Greek government and its international creditors hammered out a last-ditch bailout deal.

The country's banks were hardest hit on the stock exchange, with shares of National Bank of Greece SA (ETE.AT) down 27%, Piraeus Bank SA (TPEIR.AT) off 30% and Alpha Bank AE (ALPHA.AT) 30% lower.

Banks across the rest Europe were also mired in the red. Shares of Credit Agricole SA (ACA.FR) gave up 8.9%, Banco Popolare SC (BP.MI) fell 2.6%, and Banco Comercial Português SA (BPCGY) lost 2.3%.

Commodity blues: Energy companies were also in negative territory after Monday's harsh selloff in oil prices, which saw the global crude benchmark trading below $50 a barrel for the first time since January.

Shares of Total SA (TOT) (TOT) fell 0.7% on Tuesday, BP PLC (BP.LN) (BP.LN) erased 0.4% and Eni SpA (ENI.MI) dropped 0.8%.

Oil prices recovered a bit on Tuesday, with Brent crude on London's ICE Futures rising 71 cents to trade back above $50 a barrel. The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate crude, added 73 cents to $45.88 a barrel.

Other markets: Country-specific benchmarks traded mixed, with Germany's DAX 30 index up 0.1% at 11,453.11, while France's CAC 40 index slipped 0.3% to 5,106.77.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index rose 0.2% to 6,701.40 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-drops-for-second-day-as-standard-life-travis-perkins-slide-2015-08-04), propped up by a 5.1% gain for Meggitt PLC (MGGT.LN) after the engineering company backed its full-year guidance and reported a rise in first-half earnings.

Movers: Shares of BMW AG (BMW.XE) dropped 2.2% after the German car maker reported a decline in second-quarter profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bmw-profit-falls-as-competition-heats-up-2015-08-04) due to fierce competition.

Standard Life (SL.LN) fell 2.6% after the insurer and asset manager said revenue declined in the first half of the year (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/standard-life-revenue-drops-on-market-volatility-2015-08-04) due to market volatility.

Continental AG (CON.XE) added 3.6% after the tire maker said earnings rose in the second quarter.

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