Morning MoneyBeat Europe: Stocks to Struggle as IMF Leaves the Building

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Good morning Europe.

Stocks are expected to struggle from the off on Thursday's news that the International Monetary Fund has left negotiations with Greece, with no progress made.

This unexpected turn has steamrollered any prior optimism of a deal between Athens and its creditors while the countdown goes on toward the end of the month, when Greece has to find €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) for the IMF.

Wall Street managed gains Thursday on some strong retail sales data, despite a rise in weekly jobless claims, but they are unlikely to provide much support for investors in Europe fixated on Athens.

The daily economic schedules doesn't offer anything likely to capture their attention for long either.

Market Snapshot: U.S. markets (Thursday close) DJIA up 0.2%, Nasdaq up 0.1%, S&P 500 up 0.2%. Nikkei now flat. Brent crude down 35 cents at $65.44. Gold up $2 at $1182.40. EUR/USD at $1.1243, USD/JPY at ¥123.42. 10 year Treasury yields 2.36%, Bund 0.89%, Gilt 2.05%.

Watch For: Euro zone industrual output numbers at 9:00 GMT, followed by U.S. producer price data (12:30) and the University of Michigan's consumer-sentiment roundup (14:00).

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You Think Rising Eurozone Yields Are a Problem? Consider This…: Eurozone sovereign bond yields have been ripping higher over the past couple of months. But could this just be a temporary blip?

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Why Did It Take So Long For Bunds To Sell Off?: Maybe the question shouldn’t be why German government bonds have been selling off, but rather why it took so long. After all, Treasurys had ticked higher almost as soon as the Federal Reserve announced quantitative easing, so why was the effect delayed in Europe?

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From The Wall Street Journal:

IMF Halts Its Greek Bailout Talks Amid Lack of Progress: The International Monetary Fund said it was halting its bailout talks with Greece in a stark signal of its exasperation about a lack of progress toward a deal

Iran Backs Taliban With Cash and Arms: Tehran has quietly increased its supply of weapons, ammunition and funding to the Taliban, and is now recruiting and training its fighters, posing a new threat to Afghanistan’s fragile security.

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