European stocks were expected to open lower on Monday after all the major indexes fell on Friday, amid lingering concerns over Greek debt ahead of parliamentary votes on fresh austerity measures due to take place on Wednesday and Thursday.
The FTSE is expected to open 20 points lower on Monday to 5678, Germany’s DAX is predicted to be down by 25 points to 7096 and the CAC 40 in France is called 15 points lower at 3770.
On Sunday, Greece’s deputy prime minister warned that rebel lawmakers could block some of the reforms, but he added that the Greek parliament was still likely to pass the new measures.
London’s FTSE closed down 17.22 points on Friday to 5697.72, while the DAX was down 42.67 points to 7121.38 and France’s CAC 40 fell 38.94 points to 3784.80.
In the US stocks ended lower for the week with the Dow and S&P closing down for the seventh week out of eight amid euro zone debt worries.
In Asia on Monday shares were weaker ahead of the parliamentary votes this week and rising concerns that Greece will have to default on its debt.
The euro hovered just above a record low against the Swiss franc on Monday and fell on the dollar, staying under pressure due to more uncertainty over sovereign debt.
The single currency reached a record low of 1.1800 against the safe haven Swiss franc on Friday, but last stood at 1.1826 on Monday.
Against the dollar, the euro fell as low as $1.4107, lows not seen since June 16.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Monday as he arrives in Germany for the latest leg of his European tour.
A press briefing is expected to take place at 11:30 London time.
European Central Bank executive board member Juergen Stark will host a press briefing from Frankfurt on Monday on monetary and financial statistics produced by the ECB.
The briefing will take place at 8:00 London time, with material presented at the briefing available from 10:30.
French President Nicholas Sarkozy will hold a press conference in Paris on Monday where he will discuss public investment in France.