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(AFX UK Focus)
2008-11-07 06:59
UK Stocks -- Factors to watch on Nov 7 |
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LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening down as much as 0.7 percent on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, tracking weakness in U.S. and Japanese markets on concerns over the possibility of a deep and prolonged recession. U.S. stocks sold off on Thursday in the worst two-day slide since October 1987 with disappointing corporate outlooks and bleak sales from major retailers fuelling fears of a deepening economic downturn. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei average fell 3.6 percent. All eyes will be on the U.S. non-farm payrolls data due at 1330 GMT. Economists in a Reuters poll forecast a loss of 200,000 jobs in October compared with 159,000 jobs lost in September, while the unemployment rate is expected to be 6.3 percent versus September's 6.1 percent. Financial bookmakers expected the FTSE 100 to open down 25 to 29 points after sliding 5.7 percent on Thursday despite the Bank of England cutting interest rates by a bigger-than-expected 150 basis points. The Financial Times said Middle Eastern countries are set to pour billions of dollars into investments in British companies, according to the financier who helped arranged Abu Dhabi's 3.5 billion pounds investment in Barclays. UK stocks to watch on Friday are:
RIO TINTO The miner will lose income in 2009 as prices for key products such as copper, aluminium and iron ore decline, and as the value of assets it plans to sell slips, rating agency Moody's said.
RETAILERS A bigger-than-expected cut in UK interest rates should help to stabilise consumer spending, but the head of department stores chain John Lewis still expects trading in the run-up to Christmas to be "extremely difficult".
KINGFISHER Europe's do-it-yourself (DIY) market is set to shrink by 1.5 percent this year and the outlook for 2009 is even bleaker as economies contract and housing markets grind to a halt, Verdict Research said.
INSURERS The Financial Services Authority sought to offer reassurance on the insurance sector's ability to withstand market turbulence while admitting that the regulatory regime in place during the last bear market had been unfit for purposes, the Financial Times said.
ASTRAZENECA The decision by Sanofi-Aventis and Pfizer to stop development of a once-promising class of drugs for obesity casts a long shadow over remaining experimental drugs of the same type.
HSBC The lender said on Friday it would cut its Hong Kong prime lending rate by 25 basis points to 5 percent, effective Monday.
FRIENDS PROVIDENT The life insurer is due to appoint Evelyn Bourke of rival Standard Life as new chief financial officer, the Daily Telegraph said.
BP The oil major has dropped plans to build wind farms and other renewable energy projects in Britain and will focus renewables spending on the United States, the Guardian newspaper said.
NATIONAL GRID Britain's power grid operator has cut its power supply surplus forecast for the rest of the year, expect for the week starting Nov. 17, the National Grid said on Thursday.
TESCO Tesco's decision to appeal against the grocery inquiry's crucial competition test next week could delay its implementation until 2010 at the earliest, the Independent said.
BRITISH AIRWAYS The airline is due to announce its second-quarter results.
RENTOKIL INITIAL The company is due to announce its third-quarter sales figures.
TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times
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(Reporting by Dominic Lau)
(dominic.lau@reuters.com; +44 20 7542 5440; Reuters Messaging: dominic.lau.reuters.com@reuters.net)
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