The European markets are seen opening largely unchanged on Monday after a mixed session on Friday. Trading activity is likely to be very thin as the U.K. and U.S. markets are shut for the Spring Bank Holiday and Memorial Day, respectively. Parts of Europe will observe the Whit Monday holiday.
Investors will continue to focus on developments in Greece after the country's interior minister, Nikos Voutsis, told Greek Mega TV's weekend show that the installment to the IMF due next month won't be paid unless there is a deal with creditors.
Meanwhile, finance ministers and central bankers from G7 nations will begin a three-day meeting in Dresden, Germany on Wednesday to address faltering global growth.
Oil prices edged up in Asian deals, while gold struggles near $1200 an ounce. The dollar inched up against the safe-haven Japanese yen, buoyed by last week's stronger-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation data and Fed Chair Janet Yellen's comments about interest rates.
Investors eye a slew of U.S. data on durable goods orders, GDP, consumer confidence and house prices this week for further hints on when the Fed might raise rates.
Asian stocks are trading mixed, with Japanese shares rising for a seventh straight day on a weaker yen and better-than-expected trade data, and Chinese shares rallying to a fresh seven-year high, while the markets in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan are subdued. The markets in Hong Kong and South Korea are shut for a holiday.
In domestic corporate news, the European Commission has cleared the acquisition of Austrian paper producer Duropack by British packaging manufacturer DS Smith.
Nasdaq-listed Amgen said it would terminate collaboration with AstraZeneca to develop a psoriasis drug.
Qualcomm Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Inc. , and German luxury car giant Daimler AG announced a strategic collaboration focused on pioneering innovation in the connected car.
French state-controlled power utility Eléctricité de France SA has reportedly made a preliminary offer for the reactor unit of nuclear-engineering firm Areva SA of 2 billion euros.
The European markets turned in a mixed performance on Friday after reports emerged that Germany and the IMF are becoming increasingly hardline in their approach to Greece in the ongoing bailout talks. European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi said that the outlook for the euro zone looked brighter than it had been for the last seven years, sparking a rebound in the euro. The German DAX fell 0.4 percent and France's CAC 40 edged down 0.1 percent, while the FTSE 100 of the U.K. advanced 0.3 percent.
U.S. stocks ended a choppy session mostly lower on Friday after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janel Yellen hinted that it would be appropriate to raise interest rates at some point this year, as long as economic activity picks up. Also, rising shelter and medical care costs boosted underlying inflation pressures, the Labor Department reported, sending the dollar higher and pushing government bond yields up. The Dow slid 0.3 percent, the S&P 500 eased 0.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped marginally.
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