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LONDON (Alliance News) - London markets set to open in positive territory for a ninth session Tuesday, as investors shift focus to UK economic output later in the morning and give a backseat to concerns over the situation in Greece.
The FTSE 100 is called to open 4 points higher at 6,856.3, 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.
"The December durable goods release will provide one of the final key reports ahead of the fourth-quarter GDP print on Friday," says Lloyds Bank. "Following November?s 0.9% decline, orders are expected to have stabilised last month and we forecast a 0.9% rise." US GDP numbers are due at 1330 GMT on Friday.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei closed up 1.7% at 17,768.3.52 Tuesday, buoyed by a weaker yen. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong is down 0.6% at 24,766.37 and the Shanghai Composite is 0.9% lower at 3,352.96.
Brent crude is quoted at around USD48.05 a barrel Tuesday, and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate is quoted at USD45.05 a barrel. Gold is steady at just under the psychologically important USD1,300 level, quoted early Tuesday at USD1,282.97 an ounce.
In UK corporate news, the board of Irish carrier Aer Lingus said it will give its recommendation to a EUR1.36 billion takeover offer from International Consolidated Airlines Group, owner of British Airways and Spain's Iberia and Vueling. IAG also needs the support of shareholders Ryanair and the Irish Minister for Finance.
Low-cost carrier easyJet said first-quarter revenue rose to GBP931 million as passenger numbers increased to 14.9 million from 14.3 million a year earlier. It forecast a pretax loss between GBP10 million and GBP30 million in the seasonally slow first half of the year and said it still expects to grow capacity, measured in seats flown, by around 3.5% in the first half of the year and by around 5% for the full year.
Soft drinks maker Britvic said revenue fell 0.4% to GBP304.3 million and volumes fell 0.3% in the 12 weeks to December 21, reflecting challenging trading conditions in its main markets. Still, the company said it remains confident of delivering earnings before interest and taxes of between GBP164 million and GBP173 million, underpinned by cost savings.
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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