LONDON—European stocks opened slightly higher Tuesday, supported by a positive close on Wall Street, but gains are expected to be limited by heightened worries about Greek and other "peripheral" euro-zone debt.
London's FTSE 100 index opened 0.1% higher, Germany's DAX index rose 0.5% to 7448 points and Paris's CAC-40 index was up 0.1% at 4011.33.
"Given its negative growth and slashing of public spending, the fiscal mathematics don't add up to how Greece will be able to get a grip on its debt," said Jonathan Sudaria at Capital Spreads. Traders are now concerned that a default or restructuring has become an inevitability, he added.
Financials are expected to be in focus again following sharp falls Monday, as investors worry about the sector's exposure to sovereign debt. Fears over Greece's debt burden mounted again in Europe Monday after ratings company Standard & Poor's cut its long-term credit rating to single-B from double-B-minus.
There are no major euro-zone or U.K. data due, but in the U.S., import price index and wholesale inventories are at 1230 GMT and 1400 GMT, respectively.
On Wall Street Monday, stocks climbed as commodity prices recovered from last week's slump and a burst of deal activity helped overshadow concerns over Greek finances. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% to 12684.68, the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.5% to 2843.25 and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 0.5% to 1346.29.
Helping boost energy stocks, commodity prices rose after plunging sharply last week. Crude-oil prices settled above $102 a barrel. Chevron gained 1.21, or 1.2%, to 104.09, while Exxon Mobil added 49 cents, or 0.6%, to 83.18.
In Asia, stock markets were mostly higher Tuesday, with the Japanese market choppy as investors digested a raft of earnings, while investors in China were cautious ahead of key inflation data on Wednesday.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.4%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.4% and China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3%. South Korean and Hong Kong markets were shut for public holidays. "With markets closed in Hong Kong and Korea today, trading has been light and price action limited during the Asia session," RBC said in note to clients.
Shares in China mostly shrugged off data showing a larger-than-expected April trade surplus as investors looked ahead to Wednesday's inflation data for the same month. The April trade surplus surged to $11.4 billion, from a $139 million surplus in March, and easily topped economists' expectations for a $1 billion surplus.
Japanese stocks were choppy as investors continued to digest a recent raft of earnings.
In the European foreign exchanges, the euro lost ground against the dollar as sovereign debt concerns returned to the forefront of investors' minds. By 0555 GMT, the euro was trading at $1.4287, from $1.4364 late Monday in New York, while the dollar was at ¥80.50 from ¥80.34.
Among commodities, spot gold was at $1508.50 per troy ounce, down $4.80 from New York, while June Nymex crude oil futures were up/down $2.27 cents at $100.28 per barrel.
In the bond markets the June bund futures contract was down 0.07 at 124.21.
Write to Michele Maatouk at michele.maatouk@dowjones.com
