London pre-open: Stocks to rebound after Chinese stimulus

LONDON (ShareCast) - UK stocks are expected to rebound slightly on Monday morning after heavy losses the previous session, amid stimulus measures and increased uncertainty in Greece. City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 24 points higher than Friday's close of 6,994.63.

Friday's close below 7,000 was the index's first close below this level in seven sessions.

The People's Bank of China (HKSE: 3988-OL.HK - news) , under pressure to inject stimulus to boost growth in the world's second-largest economy, this weekend lowered its reserve requirement ratio by one percentage point, the most aggressive cut since 2008.

However, the bigger-than-expected move, intended to boost bank lending, failed to spark a rally on Asian indices with stocks across the continent firmly in the red on Monday.

Turning to Greece , the Eurogroup will meet this week to discuss the reform package Greece needs to present in exchange for a further €7.2bn bailout tranche.

"So far Greek leader Alexis Tsipras has been unable to offer an extensive list of suitable reforms that would keep Greece afloat a little longer and avoid a nasty default," said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam. "The odds on Greece defaulting on its debt and leaving the eurozone have grown considerably as a result, although I still remain very doubtful that it will happen," he said.

Stocks to watch Engineering software group Aveva has delivered a short, albeit positive, pre-close trading update which said annual results should meet analysts' forecasts. It said: "The board believes that this result, which has been achieved in mixed market conditions, positively reflects the resilience of the underlying business model." Oilfield services outfit Petrofac has said it expects to recognise a further loss of $195m (£130m) in 2015 for the Laggan-Tormore gas plant project on Shetland. The company, which had already recognised a $230m loss on the project in 2014, told investors earlier this year that it did not foresee a further profit or loss over the remainder of the contract duration with completion expected in the third quarter of 2015.