Europe to follow Asia’s lead with mixed open; Bayer puts in $62 billion Monsanto bid 

 

European stocks are expected to open mixed on Monday following a mixed start to the week in Asia after weak Japanese export data and a dip in oil prices.

The London FTSE index is called to open 1 point higher at 6,157, the German DAX up 5 points at 9,921 and the French CAC down 8 points at 4,341, according to IG.

European markets look set to follow their counterparts in Asia on Monday where markets traded mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1.18 percent, while the dollar-yen pair retreated to the 109 handle by mid-morning trade following data that showed Japanese exports were down 10.1 percent on-year in April.

The Bank of Japan’s Governor Haruhiko Kuroda told CNBC this weekend that he had “enough ammunition” to hit the central bank’s 2 percent inflation target amid some criticism the central bank’s negative interest rates policy had failed to deliver.

Oil prices also slipped in Asian trade on Monday, hit by a strong dollar and signs that global crude supply is holding up despite unplanned outages, Reuters reported. In a further sign of abundant supply, the number of rigs operated by U.S. drillers was steady last week for the first time this year, the news agency noted.

In business news, German chemicals group Bayer offered to acquirev Monsanto for $122 per share in cash, valuing the U.S. firm at $62 billion.

In other news, Turkey’s new prime minister has said that the European Union (EU) needs to end its confusion over migration policies and its attitude towards Turkey joining the bloc. The remarks, by new Prime Minister Binali Yildirim who is seen as a close ally of President Erdogan, come amid division in the U.K. over Turkey’s potential future membership of the EU.

Elsewhere in the U.K., the Treasury will warn on Monday that Britain will be plunged into a year-long recession if it votes to leave the EU, the Financial Times reported.

On the earnings front, Ryanair publishes full-year earnings on Monday.

Source: CNBC

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