19th Feb 2015 07:36
LONDON (Alliance News) - London markets are called to open lower Thursday, after the European Central Bank agreed to boost Emergency Liquidity Assistance for Greek banks after a meeting in Frankfurt late Wednesday.
"According to reports the program will be extended by EUR3.3 billion for a period of two weeks after which the program may be extended again or cancelled. The maintenance of the ELA should be euro-supportive given its vital importance for keeping Greek banks capitalised and preventing Grexit by default," says CMC Markets analyst Jasper Lawler.
The ECB also will be releasing minutes of its monetary policy meeting Thursday at 1230 GMT.
"These minutes will be particularly instructive as they may shed some light on how and with what level of consensus it reached its decision to begin quantitative easing in its January 22 meeting," adds Lawler.
IG futures indicate the FTSE 100 to open 16 points lower at 6,881.4. The index closed flat at 6,898.08 on Wednesday, with mid-cap stocks outperforming blue-chips, after Greece said it will ask Thursday for an extension of its loan agreement with the eurozone.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis expressed confidence that the extension of its loan will be approved by other finance ministers by the end of the week.
Varoufakis said the proposal will be submitted ahead of a Eurogroup working group meeting and "will satisfy the Greek side and the Eurogroup."
Greece's new leftist government wants an extension of the loans but not the austerity programme that came tied to its EUR240 billion international debt bailout. The eurozone-provided loans are due to expire at the end of the month.
Wall Street ended mixed Wednesday. The DJIA closed down 0.1%, the S&P 500 ended flat and the Nasdaq Composite finished up 0.1%.
In Asia on Thursday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 closed up 0.4%. Hong Kong and Shanghai markets are closed for Chinese New Year.
Sports Direct International reported early Thursday a 2.5% rise in group sales for the third quarter, and a 7.6% increase in gross profit.
The company, the UK's biggest sporting goods retailer by revenue, said it is "very confident" of achieving its full-year internal underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation target of GBP360 million. That would exclude charges for its Employee Bonus Share Schemes, it said.
Beer and soft drinks giant SABMiller said Chief Financial Officer Jamie Wilson has resigned for "personal reasons", while current Strategy Director Domenic De Lorenzo will become acting CFO with immediate effect.
In the UK corporate calendar Thursday, BAE Systems, Centrica, Primary Health Properties and Morgan Sindall Group have released full-year results, while Petra Diamonds and Go-Ahead Group have issued half-year results.
Still in the economic calendar Thursday, the UK CBI Industrial Trends Survey is due at 1100 GMT. The EU current account is at 0900 GMT and consumer confidence is at 1500 GMT. In the US, initial and continuing jobless claims are at 1330 GMT, and Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey is at 1500 GMT. US EIA crude oil stocks are due at 1530 GMT.
By Daniel Ruiz; [email protected]
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