LONDON: European stock markets fell and the euro dropped against the dollar on Friday in reaction to a new threat of Greek bankruptcy after the eurozone held up a bailout. The benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 0.26 percent to 5,880.36 points at around midday. Frankfurt's DAX 30 shed 0.94 percent to 6,725.20 points and in Paris the CAC 40 lost 0.81 percent to 3,397.45. The European single currency dropped to $1.3256 from $1.3286 late in New York on Thursday. The price of oil also fell, and analysts said the latest hitch over a rescue for Greece was a factor. "There has been a modest pullback in risk appetite in the financial markets following the decision ... not to formally agree to the 130-billion-euro second bailout package (for Greece) and a surprising slump in Chinese imports," said Derek Halpenny, an analyst at The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in London. "The rejection ... to sign off the bailout deal leaves us in limbo over the weekend which may encourage a further reduction of risk today during the European trading session." Eurozone finance ministers on Thursday put off a decision on a new bailout to save Greece from bankruptcy, giving Athens less than a week to meet three conditions in return for aid worth 130 billion euros ($172 billion). The deadline was set after talks in Brussels between Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos and his 16 eurozone counterparts, who were unmoved by a deal by Greek politicians on austerity measures demanded by lenders. "Given on-going concerns over Greece, traders are reluctant to commit funds until a deal is firmly approved by European finance ministers," said ETX Capital trader Manoj Ladwa. Traders were also focusing on China, which on Friday said its imports slumped by 15.3 percent in January compared with one year earlier. And with exports falling 0.5 percent, the trade data was China's weakest since during the global financial crisis in 2009. Analysts said the figures added to mounting evidence that the world's second-largest economy was slowing as the eurozone crisis and weakness in the United States hurt demand for Chinese products. The double-digit fall in imports also reflected "extremely weak domestic demand as investment slumps", said Alistair Thornton, a Beijing-based analyst at IHS Global Insight. Asian stock markets mostly closed lower on Friday in reaction to the news out of China and Greece, although Shanghai's main index edged up 0.10 percent. Analysts also digested earnings updates from major companies in Europe, including Barclays bank and energy giant Total. Barclays' share price jumped 2.60 percent to 239.16 pence, topping London's FTSE 100, despite a 16-percent drop in annual net profit for the British bank, as traders cheered its strong buffer against a future financial crisis. In Paris, Total dropped 1.05 percent to 40.72 euros on profit-taking after the French energy titan posted a 2011 net profit of 12.3 billion euros. In foreign exchange trade, the dollar rose to 77.72 yen from 77.68 yen on Thursday. Gold prices dropped to $1,719.80 an ounce from $1,748.

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