London pre-open: Stocks to rise ahead of Fed, Greece remains in focus

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open 16 points higher than Tuesday’s close of 6,710.10, its lowest finish since 10 March.

Ongoing developments in the Greek debt crisis continue to be in focus for the markets as concerns about a potential ‘Grexit’ grow, with Athens continuing to butt heads with its creditors.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has launched a scathing attack on the IMF in particular, saying the Fund bears “criminal responsibility” for his country’s financial problems.

His comments came as UK Chancellor George Osborne revealed that Whitehall had stepped up its contingency planning in case of Greece leaves the euro. Osborne warned people not to “underestimate the potential damage to financial confidence” from a Grexit.

Meanwhile, the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting comes to an end on Wednesday evening and will likely to steal the spotlight with investors looking out for possible hints about the first rate hike.

Analysts generally don’t expect the Fed to tighten monetary policy at this month’s meeting in light of recent mixed data on the US economy.

Stocks to watch

High street sports retailer JD Sports Fashion said it expects to meet annual forecasts after a solid start to the year despite tough comparatives and weaker margins in Europe. Executive chairman Peter Cowgill said: “The board remains confident that current earnings expectations for the group for the year ended 31 January 2016 should be met."

Betfair posted a 53% rise in full-year operating profit as product and marketing investment drove record customer activity.

Property developer Berkeley Group boosted pre-tax 44.6% from £292.9m to £423.5, and said the housing market is stable.