LONDON (Alliance News) - UK shares are set to open lower Wednesday, with the investor focus on the visit of the Greek President Alexis Tsipras to Moscow and the minutes from the US Federal Open Market Committee to be released later in the day.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 19 points lower at 6,942.8. The index closed up 1.9% at 6,961.77, led by oil-related stocks, in what had been the first chance for London and other Europe markets to react to a worse-than-expected US non-farm payrolls report released on Friday that appeared to push back the timing for a rate hike by the US Federal Reserve.
In the UK corporate front, news from BG Group and Royal Dutch Shell will dominate market attention Wednesday. Responding to media reports, the BG Group late Tuesday confirmed that it is in advanced talks regarding a possible takeover bid for the company by fellow FTSE 100 oil giant Royal Dutch Shell.
BG Group said that while there was no certainty that any offer will ultimately be made by Shell, it will make a further announcement shortly. The company noted that Shell must either announce a firm intention to make an offer for it or announce that it does not intend to make an offer by May 5.
French media giant Vivendi has denied media speculation that it might seek to acquire pay-TV provider Sky, Bloomberg reported. According to the report, a representative of the Paris-based company said it was looking at Sky as one of many options to expand its own TV business Canal Plus. A report that appeared in the media earlier had said that Vivendi was considering the deal after reviewing targets in Turkey and other parts of Europe.
Wall Street ended flat to lower Tuesday. The DJIA closed flat, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ended down 0.2%.
The minutes of the Federal Reserve's most recent monetary policy meeting are due at 1900 BST, as well as the start of the US corporate earnings season, with aluminum producer Alcoa, traditionally the first to report, releasing its 2015 first-quarter results after the market close.
In Asia on Wednesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 trades up 0.7%, and the Hang Seng trades up 2.7%. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite is trading up 0.5%.
Brent crude is quoted at around USD58.22 a barrel Wednesday, and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate is quoted at USD52.88 a barrel. Gold is quoted early Wednesday at USD1,210.40 an ounce.
In the economic calendar Wednesday, German factory orders are due at 0700 BST, while eurozone retail sales are at 100 BST. The Bank of England releases its credit conditions survey at 1030 BST. In the US, EIA crude oil stocks are at 1530 BST.
In the corporate calendar Wednesday, airlines easyJet and International Consolidated Airlines Group both publish March traffic statistics. WS Atkins provides a trading update Wednesday. Amerisur Resources releases full-year results, while Robert Waters issues a first quarter interim management statement.
By Daniel Ruiz; danielruiz@alliancenews.com
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International Airlines (IAG)
Robert Walters (RWA)
easyJet (EZJ)