LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares are set to open lower Tuesday after closing higher Monday on optimism over the Greek debt situation following an emergency eurozone summit in Brussels.
However, European leaders warned that still more efforts are needed to bridge differences with Athens and pull it back from the brink of bankruptcy.
"I'm convinced that we will come to a final agreement in the course of this week, for the simple reason that we have to find an agreement this week," said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, following the meeting.
Greece has been negotiating since February with the commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund on reforms needed to unlock EUR7.2 billion in bailout aid. The talks have entered crunch time, with just days left for Greece to access funds before the European share of its rescue package expires on June 30.
A new reform proposal, submitted by Athens just hours before Monday's talks, has managed to "inject new dynamism into the negotiations", said EU President Donald Tusk.
"Yesterday the European Central Bank raised the Emergency Liquidity Assistance ceiling yet again and it seems likely it will have to continue to review it on a daily basis until such time the current bailout program comes to an end at the end of the month, or until negotiations break down again," says CMC Markets chief market analyst Michael Hewson.
"So while it would appear that the Greek government has shifted some ground towards the creditors, the measures put forward yesterday appear to differ little from the same failed policies that have brought Greece to the situation where we are today. That?s not really something worth celebrating," Hewson writes.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 9 points lower at 6,816.30. The index closed up 1.7% at 6,825.67 on Monday.
Wall Street ended higher Monday. The DJIA closed and the S&P 500 ended up 0.6%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite finished the session at a new record closing high, up 0.7% at 5,153.97, having reached a high at 5,162.10 earlier in the day.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 trades up 1.6%, while the Hang Seng is up 0.7%. The Shanghai Composite is trading down 0.2%.
Ladbrokes late on Monday confirmed it is holding talks with unlisted rival Gala Coral Group on a possible merger of Ladbrokes and Coral Retail, Eurobet Retail, and Gala Coral's Online businesses. The talks are focusing on plans to create an enlarged business which would be traded on the main market of the London Stock Exchange, Ladbrokes said. The betting firm currently is traded on the London main market and is a member of the FTSE 250 index.
In the corporate calendar Tuesday, Carnival releases its second-quarter results, while Telecom Plus, Hayward Tyler Group and Immunodiagnostic Systems Holdings publish full-year results. Petrofac issues a trading update and Chemring releases half-year results.
In the economic calendar, French, German, and eurozone Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers indices are due at 0800 BST, 0830 BST and 0900 BST, respectively. In the US, durable goods are due at 1330 BST, Redbook index is due at 1355 BST, and US Markit manufacturing PMI is due at 1445 BST. US new homes sales are at 1500 BST.
By Daniel Ruiz; danielruiz@alliancenews.com
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