Britain’s FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 31 points, or 0.5 percent higher on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures up 0.6 percent ahead of the cash market open. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on
* The UK blue chip index closed down 0.27 percent on Thursday at 6,130.46 points.
* LSE GROUP: London Stock Exchange Group, which is in talks to merge with Deutsche Boerse to create a pan-European trading house, reported a 31 percent rise in full-year adjusted pre-tax profit on Friday.
* WPP PLC: Britain’s WPP, the world’s biggest advertising company, said it had enjoyed a solid start to 2016 after account wins and strong demand across the board helped it end 2015 with its best growth of the year.
* ROSNEFT: Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft said on Friday it plans to raise oil supplies to Europe via Druzhba pipeline by 3-5 percent this year to up to 29 million tonnes thanks to better economic environment in the region.
* OIL: Crude futures rose in Asian trade on Friday, buoyed by renewed optimism prices may have bottomed out after official U.S. data showed oil production fell to its lowest level since November 2014.
* METALS: London copper was targeting its largest weekly advance in four months on Friday as renewed risk appetite fuelled support for commodities on hopes for further monetary stimulus from China, and signs of a stronger economy in the United States.
* BHP BILLITON: Brazilian prosecutors on Thursday criticized a deal that mining company Samarco reached earlier this week with the federal government to pay an estimated 20 billion reais in damages for a deadly dam spill in November.
[Source:- Reuters]
