London pre-open: FTSE to continue lower amid growing Greece concerns

15th Jun 2015 07:40

London-listed stocks are expected to extend Friday's losses as concerns about the future of Greece's economy weigh heavily on sentiment.City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open around 30 points lower than Friday's close of 6,784.92."It should be a very interesting week in the financial markets as Greece continues to try and negotiate a palatable bailout with its creditors, while in the US the Fed will announce its latest monetary policy decision along with its latest economic projections," Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam said."These two events are so important for the markets and could trigger some huge moves in the markets this week. Greece may only be a small country, but if a bailout deal cannot be agreed, it could be very damaging for the eurozone and the rippling effect would harm those countries outside of the region as well."The date by when Greece must repay €1.6bn to the IMF is drawing increasingly close, as is the €1.5bn due in public sector wages and pensions.Meanwhile, markets will also be awaiting the outcome of Wednesday's meeting of the Federal Reserve, which is expected to offer some indications that a rate hike could be on the cards in September.In the morning's company news, Thomas Cook announced that it has started a new joint venture with shareholder Fosun International with the aim of developing domestic, inbound and outbound tourism activities for the Chinese market. The JV, which will be 51% owned by Fosun and 49% by the UK travel operator, will be marketed under the Thomas Cook brand and give the company direct exposure to China's growing demand for leisure travel.Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund (USAF), in which Unite Group has a 22% stake, has reached an agreement to buy a 2,100 bed student accommodation portfolio for £271m.NMC Health has acquired long term medical care provider ProVita for $160.6m, the company announced today. ProVita, which provides care in the United Arab Emirates, operated 90 long term care beds in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.Cairn India on Sunday accepted a $2.3bn bid from mining giant Vedanta, the companies announced in a joint statement. Under the deal, which is expected to complete in the first three months of next year, Cairn India investors will receive one Vedanta share for every Cairn share they hold, plus one redeemable preference share in Vedanta that has a face value of INR 10.