LONDON (dpa-AFX) - The UK market fell on Monday, amid concerns ahead of the meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels later in the day. Investor sentiment was impacted by the ongoing talks between Greece and its private lenders on a deal necessary to prevent the nation from a default. European Union leaders are meeting for the first time this year to finalize the details of a fiscal pact, while at the same time endorsing the bailout fund with a capacity of 500 billion euros. However, the meeting has been overshadowed by concerns about Greece's ability to strike a deal with private lenders. The country will have to face a disorderly default if the Greek government fails to reach an agreement with its bondholders by March 20, when Athens must repay 14.5 billion euros of maturing debt. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks is declining 0.87 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, is losing 0.55 percent. The FTSE 100 index is currently declining 0.68 percent. Most miners are notably lower. Anglo American is declining 1.8 percent and Antofagasta is losing 2.3 percent. Steel maker Evraz is declining 4.8 percent. Rio Tinto is losing 0.9 percent. Goldman Sachs raised the stock to 'Buy' from 'Neutral.' Among lenders, Barclays is falling 2 percent and Lloyds Banking is declining 3.1 percent. Royal Bank of Scotland is down 2.2 percent and Standard Chartered is rettreating 2.7 percent. BP is losing 1.2 percent and Royal Dutch Shell is dropping 1 percent. Budget airline Ryanair reported a profit for the third quarter, mainly reflecting a 17 percent increase in average fares. The Irish company also lifted its profit outlook for the full year. The stock is losing 1.4 percent. GlaxoSmithKline is gaining 1.2 percent. Elsewhere in Europe, the German DAX is falling 0.46 percent and the French CAC 40 is losing 0.68 percent. Switzerland's SMI is dropping 0.30 percent. In economic news, Eurozone economic confidence improved in January, posting the first increase in sentiment since March 2011, a survey by the European Commission showed. Meanwhile, Spain marked the first contraction in economic activity since the fourth quarter of 2009. Official figures showed that the Spanish economy shrank 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter, in line with the quarterly estimates from the Bank of Spain. Across Asia/Pacific, markets ended weak. China's Shanghai Composite Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended notably lower by falling about 1.5 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.54 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries slid 0.32 percent. In the U.S., futures point to a lower open on Wall Street. In the previous session, the Nasdaq rose 0.4 percent, while the Dow fell 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 slipped 0.2 percent. In the commodity space, crude for March delivery is sliding $0.36 to $99.20 per barrel and February gold is falling $11.7 to $1720.5 a troy ounce.
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