European stocks are likely to open higher on Tuesday after posting modest losses a day before, as investors turn their focus to reports saying Germany could make concessions to facilitate a second bailout package for Greece.
While a "total" restructuring of Greek debt is not an option, European Union leaders will try to resolve the Greek problem by the end of next month, the head of the euro group Jean-Claude Juncker said Monday.
The euro rose to a three-week high against the dollar and July Nymex crude futures are firm above $101 a barrel on optimism over more assistance for Greece.
Asian stocks saw broad-based gains on Tuesday, with the Nikkei lifted by an upbeat outlook from manufacturers while Korean stocks rose on bargain hunting in large-cap stocks after recent sharp falls.
The Chinese market is posting a modest 0.2 percent gain, rising for the first time in nine days on speculation a government proposal to hike electricity prices will ease power shortages and boost power production.
On the macroeconomic front, Japan's industrial and manufacturing activity showed signs of rebound in April after the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11, while industrial output in South Korea declined 1.5 percent in April, missing expectations for a 0.4 percent increase, data released today revealed.
Credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service said it was placing Japan's sovereign debt ratings on review for a possible downgrade, citing concerns about a "weak policy response" to sluggish growth prospects. Elsewhere, India's fourth-quarter GDP numbers came in slightly below expectations.
Closer home, the Swiss economy expanded 0.3 percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said, which was slower than the revised 0.8 percent growth seen in the fourth quarter and the expected growth of 0.7 percent. Flash inflation and unemployment from the euro area are among the economic reports due to be released in the session.
In corporate news, German reinsurer Munich Re could be seeking more acquisitions in the U.S., the Financial Times Deutschland said, citing management board member and CEO Torsten Jeworrek.
Health care and agricultural materials company Bayer AG will outsource production of its blockbuster drug Betaferon to privately-held rival Boehringer Ingelheim, the Financial Times Deutschland reported separately.
Kitchen equipment maker Alno AG reported a net loss of EUR13.1 million for the full year 2010 compared to a net loss of EUR 39.0 million for the full year 2009
French carmaker Renault SA appointed Carlos Tavares as its new chief operating officer, effective immediately. He succeeds Patrick Pelata, who resigned from the position in early April over a corporate espionage scandal.
Luxury products maker LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA denied allegations that it was planning to destabilize Hermes International SCA and said it wished to remain a long-term shareholder in its smaller rival.
U.K.-based ARM Holdings hopes to steal Intel's dominance of the mobile PC market and have its processors in more than half of all tablets, mini-notebooks and other mobile PCs sold in 2015, President Tudor Brown said.
Reckitt Benckiser, which acquired India's Paras Pharmaceuticals last year, has asked JP Morgan to find a buyer for the latter's personal-care unit, the Business Standard said.
European stocks failed to sustain modest early gains on Monday, finishing a choppy session with a slightly loss owing to a holiday in the U.K and U.S. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue chippers and France's CAC 40 closed down about 0.2 percent each and Switzerland's SMI shed 0.3 percent, while the German DAX closed little changed.
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