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LONDON (Alliance News) - London markets set to open higher for a ninth session Tuesday, overcoming nervousness over the Greek election as investors shift focus to UK economic output later in the morning.
The FTSE 100 is called to open 15 points higher at 6,867.5, up from Monday's 6,852.4 close, which saw the index rise 0.3%.
"European markets put to one side concerns about the politics to continue to build on last week?s gains, after German business sentiment improved for the third month in a row," says Michael Hewson at CMC Markets UK. "The main focus away from Greece is back on the UK with the initial assessment of the UK economy?s economic performance for the fourth quarter."
Expectations are for gross domestic product to come in at around 0.6%, hindered somewhat by the slowdown seen in the construction and manufacturing sectors, Hewson adds. The report is due at 0930 GMT.
The French CAC 40 closed up 0.7% on Monday, and the DAX 30 up 1.4% at 10,798.33, continuing its run of record highs. The German index was boosted by a positive IFO business sentiment index reading of 106.7 in January, slightly more than the 106.4 score expected by economists. In December, the index was at 105.5.
US durable goods orders for December are due Tuesday at 1330 GMT and US consumer confidence for January is expected at 1500 GMT.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei closed up 1.7% at 17,768.3.52, buoyed by a weaker yen. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong is down 0.4% at 24,804.4 and the Shanghai Composite is 0.8% lower at 3,357.533.
Brent crude is quoted at around USD47.85 a barrel Tuesday, and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate is quoted at USD45.93 a barrel. Gold is steady at just under the psychologically important USD1,300 level, quoted early Tuesday at USD1,281.89 an ounce.
In UK corporate news, interim management statements are due from easyJet, British Land, Britvic and Carpetright.
US earnings later on Tuesday include DJIA constituents 3M, AT&T, Caterpillar, DuPont, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble and United Technologies, as well as Apple, American Airlines and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
By Ian Edmondson; ianedmondson@alliancenews.com
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