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LONDON (Alliance News) - UK stocks are called lower Tuesday as Greece looks set to miss the month-end deadline for its debt payment to the International Monetary Fund.
Greece and its creditors have failed to reach an agreement on a deal to release bailout funds in time for Greece to meet a EUR1.6 billion debt payment to the International Monetary Fund due later Tuesday. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reportedly said on Monday that his country will not make the payment to the IMF by the deadline.
Meanwhile, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis threatened to take legal action against the EU if his country is thrown out of the euro, as Athens said it may not make the major debt repayment. "The EU treaties make no provision for euro exit and we refuse to accept it," Varoufakis told The Daily Telegraph in an interview published late Monday. He said that Greek membership of the euro was not negotiable.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 will open lower at 6,586.7. The blue-chip index fell 2.0% on Monday to 6,620.48 as investors reacted to Greece's decision to hold a referendum on the debt bailout proposals by its creditors and to impose capital controls on its banks.
On Monday in the US, the DJIA ended down 2.0%, the S&P 500 closed down 2.1% and the Nasdaq Composite ended down 2.4%.
Asian stock indices are rebounding Tuesday, the Japanese Nikkei is up 0.5%, the Hang Seng trades up 1.4% and the Shanghai Composite is up 3.0%.
In the corporate calendar, there is an interim management statement from maritime engineering company James Fisher & Sons, specialist in light commercial vehicle hire Northgate, microchip maker Imagination Technologies Group, and carpet retailer Carpetright. Online grocery company Ocado Group provides half-year results.
In the economic calendar, German unemployment is at 0855 BST, ahead of first quarter UK GDP and current account data at 0930 BST. Eurozone unemployment rate and inflation is at 1000 BST, while in the afternoon there is US Chicago Purchasing Managers Index at 1445 BST and consumer confidence at 1500 BST.
By Neil Thakrar; neilthakrar@alliancenews.com; @NeilThakrar1
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