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LONDON (Alliance News) - UK stocks are set to open slightly lower Tuesday following a weak close on Wall Street on Monday amid a sell-off on US treasuries.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 17 points lower at 7,012.8. The index closed down 0.2% at 7,029.85 on Monday, following a lack of progress in the Eurogroup meeting to discuss Greece's financial problems.
Eurozone finance ministers told Greece on Monday to speed up work aimed at reaching an agreement with its creditors on the country's reform plans, amid fears that Athens could soon run out of money. As Greece continues to access the EUR7.2 billion in remaining bailout funds, the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers warned in a joint statement that "more time and effort are needed to bridge the gaps on the remaining open issues".
Athens made a EUR756 milion loan repayment to the IMF on Monday, hours ahead of a Tuesday deadline, Greek state radio reported. It is one of a series of debt redemption tranches that have raised concerns about Greece's ability to keep paying its bills.
In New York on Monday, the DJIA and the S&P 500 both ended down 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%. A sharp jump in Treasury yields weighed on stocks, with bonds moving back to the downside after rebounding in the two previous sessions. The steep pullback by Treasuries was partly due to continued weakness among European bonds as well as an influx of supply in the coming days.
"European bond markets also started to succumb to the same selling pressure that we saw in the middle of last week, with German bunds also coming under pressure again, on receding deflation concerns, and this looks set to see a weaker European open equity market open this morning," says Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.
In Asia Tuesday, the Japanese Nikkei is down 0.2%, the Hang Seng trades down 0.3%, while the Shanghai Composite is up 1.0%.
In the UK corporate calendar, information services company Experian reports full-year results, as does equipment rental and plant hire services company Speedy Hire. Budget airline easyJet and pub operator Enterprise Inns report half-year results. There also are interim management statements from Lloyd's of London insurer Hiscox and specialist insurer Just Retirement Group.
In the economic calendar, there is UK industrial and manufacturing production figures at 0930 BST, and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research's UK GDP estimate at 1500 BST.
By Neil Thakrar; neilthakrar@alliancenews.com; @NeilThakrar1
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