Europe seen higher as Greek crisis worsens

Europe seen higher as Greek crisis worsens
uropean equities are expected to open higher Friday despite a meeting of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers failing to reach a deal on reforms with Greece, making a Greek debt default at the end of the month more likely.

The FTSE is seen opening 6 points higher at 6,713, the German DAX up 30 points at 11,130 and the French CAC up 2 points at 4,805.

An emergency summit of euro zone leaders is to be held on Monday following the failure of euro zone finance ministers, who met in Luxembourg Thursday, to reach a deal with Greece on completing its reform program. The reforms would allow Greece to receive a last tranche of bailout aid worth 7.2 billion euros but sticking points remain over pension cuts.

Without the money, Greece has said that it will not be able to make a 1.5 billion euro debt payment to one of its senior creditors, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on June 30.

With the prospect of a default getting close, thousands of Greeks gathered in front of the Greek parliament calling for Greece to stay in the euro, chanting "Europe! Europe!," Reuters reported.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is to hold a teleconference on Greece Friday to discuss extending emergency liquidity to Greece and expressed doubt whether Greek banks, which have suffered large capital outflows, could open Monday.

Asian shares outside Shanghai surged from the get-go on the final trading day of the week, as the impressive lead from Wall Street helped to sooth market jitters concerning Greece's finances.

In other news, the St. Petersberg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) continues in Russia with global business leaders in attendance. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin today. On Thursday, Russia's finance minister said that Greece has not asked it for financial aid.
The forum comes at a difficult time for Russia as it is still under international sanctions due to its annexation of Crimea last year and subsequent role in the pro-Russian uprising in east Ukraine, although it denies involvement.