European stocks may drift lower on Monday, extending Friday's modest declines, as caution prevails ahead of the Greek parliament vote on an austerity plan.
Greece's parliament begins a debate on an unpopular austerity package on Monday which international lenders are demanding to see approved to avert a debt default. A parliament vote is expected on Wednesday.
Analysts say the parliament is likely to adopt major budget reforms in a close vote, triggering an expanded installment of funding designed to prevent a wider sovereign debt crisis.
Most Asian stock markets, barring Chinese and Indian equities, edged lower on Monday after global regulators raised the capital adequacy requirements for the world's biggest lenders and Moody's said it had put the ratings of 16 Italian banks on review for a possible downgrade.
China's Shanghai Composite index is rising 0.3 percent after Premier Wen Jiabao signaled last week that its 4 percent inflation target this year would be met. India's Sensex is up 0.8 percent after the government's move to raise fuel prices eased the subsidy burden and bolstered the image of the government among foreign investors.
Japan's Nikkei is down 0.8 percent, Australia's All Ordinaries is losing over a percent and South Korea's Kospi is down a percent. Crude futures for August delivery are down 94 cents at $90.22 a barrel, pressured by a stronger dollar and concerns about the U.S. economy.
On the economic front, house prices in the U.K. declined in June, and is likely to fall further due to subdued demand, according to the latest survey of estate agents by Hometrack. Prices fell 0.1 percent month-over-month in June, taking the annual decline to 3.9 percent.
In corporate news, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and AstraZeneca said that a potential new drug for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes holds promise after a 78-week study.
Nokia Siemens Networks B.V, a 50-50 joint venture between Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia Corp. and German telecom company Siemens AG, is now looking to restructure itself after it failed to close a deal to sell a controlling stake, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
U.K.-based entertainment retailer HMV Group Plc is set to announce the sale of its loss-making Canadian business to a unit of private equity firm Hilco Consumer Capital, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
News Corp. should pay an additional 4 billion pounds, or $6.4 billion, to take full ownership of satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc, the Sunday Times said, citing Crispin Odey, one of the largest investors in BSkyB.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it would receive $876 million from the governments of Alberta and Canada to fund a carbon capture and storage project at its Scotford oil sands upgrader.
Italian banks led European shares lower on Friday, as investors remained unconvinced that sovereign debt problems will be contained to Greece. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks lost 0.6 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, eased 0.2 percent. Around Europe, the German DAX lost 0.4 percent and France's CAC 40 slipped marginally, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.4 percent.
On Wall Street, the major averages fell over a percent each to end near their worst levels of the session on Friday, as a negative reaction to quarterly results from Oracle and lingering concerns abut the financial situation in Europe overshadowed relatively upbeat economic data on durable goods orders for May.
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