31st Mar 2015 06:33
LONDON (Alliance News) - London share prices are set to open lower Tuesday, with investors focused on economic data including the UK current account and latest fourth-quarter GDP figures as well as any progress on talks about Greek reforms.
Ahead of the open, Antofagasta and Teck Resources have both said they aren't in merger talks to create a copper producer giant.
"With the situation in Greece continuing to simmer away in the background investors appear remarkably relaxed about the lack of detail in yesterday’s reform list, with details of pension and labour market reform somewhat sketchy at best," says Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.
"With German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisting that Greece’s reform program needs to add up, it is still increasingly evident that it remains some way short of doing so, as the game of chicken that has been going on since February continues to play out," he adds.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 will open 9 points lower at 6,882.4. The index closed Monday up 0.5% at 6,891.43, snapping a four-day losing streak, as investor sentiment improved in the wake of dovish comments by central bank chiefs in China and the US.
Germany's retail sales growth eased at a slower-than-expected pace in February, preliminary figures from Destatis showed Tuesday. Retails sales grew 3.6% year-over-year in February, slower than January's 5.0% climb, which was revised from a 5.3% increase. Economists had forecast a 3.4% growth for the month. It was the third consecutive monthly rise.
On a monthly basis, retail sales dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in February, in contrast to a 2.3% increase in the prior month. It was the first decline in five months. Economists had forecast a 0.7% drop for the month. In the January to February period, retail sales climbed 4.3% compared to the same period last year.
Still in the economic calendar, German unemployment data is at 0855 BST while UK Current account and the third reading of fourth-quarter GDP are at 0930 BST. Eurozone's Consumer Price Index and Unemployment Rate are at 1000 BST. In the US, Chicago Purchasing Manager's Index is at 1445 BST, while US Consumer confidence is at 1500 BST.
UK Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter is expected to rise to 2.7% year-on-year from the previous reading of 2.6%, while estimates for the quarter-on-quarter figure show a decline to 0.5% from the previous reading of 0.7%.
Meanwhile, the UK current account deficit for the fourth quarter, which measures the difference between exports and imports of goods and services, is expected to narrow to GBP21.5 billion from a previous reading of a deficit of GBP27 billion.
Miners Antofagasta and Teck Resources have both said Monday that they aren't in merger talks. According to a report that appeared in Bloomberg, the two firms had held early-stage talks for a merger.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group said Rory Cullinan is to leave his role as the executive chairman of its Corporate and Institutional Bank on April 30, only a month after he was appointed to the role. The Financial Times reported Cullinan's departure comes after a falling out with fellow executives over how best to pursue the strategy of culling the investment banking operations.
BT Group and Virgin Media have written a letter to media and communications regulator Ofcom, arguing any attempt to open up high-speed broadband networks to rivals will result in higher prices and lower investment in the UK, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
The pair, in a letter seen by the FT and also signed by regional broadband company Kcom Group, warned any regulatory changes to the business broadband market may lead to higher prices and "significant regulatory uncertainty, undermining the return on sunk investments and therefore disincentivising future infrastructure investments".
Wall Street ended higher Monday. The DJIA closed up 1.5%, the S&P 500 ended up 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite closed up 1.2%.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 closed down 0.4%, and the Hang Seng trades up 0.5%. The Shanghai Composite is trading up 0.5%.
Brent crude is quoted at around USD55.77 a barrel Tuesday, and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate is quoted at USD47.91 a barrel. Gold is quoted early Tuesday at USD1,181.60 an ounce.
By Daniel Ruiz; [email protected]
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