UK Stocks-Factors to watch on March 28 (updated)

abrdn Property Income Trust

28/03/2024 07:47

(Updates futures, adds news items)
       March 28 - Britain's FTSE 100  .FTSE  index is seen
opening up on Thursday, with futures  FFIc1  rising 0.33%. 
        
  
    * THAMES WATER: Thames Water said shareholders had refused
to stump up a promised 500 million pounds of equity, heightening
concerns about its survival, after it failed to agree future
bills and conditions with the regulator.
        * CMA: Britain's competition regulator said that it has
decided 
    not to open
     an in-depth 'phase 2' investigation into Aviva's  AV.L 
acquisition of AIG Life UK.
  
    * SPIRENT COMMUNICATIONS: Keysight Technologies  KEYS.N 
will buy Spirent Communications  SPT.L  in an all-cash deal,
valuing the British telecommunications testing firm at 1.16
billion pounds  ($1.46 billion).
        * JD SPORTS: JD Sports  JD.L  said trading conditions 
    remained
     challenging and reported like-for-like sales in the fourth
quarter rose 0.1%.
  
        *LLOYD'S OF LONDON: Lloyd's of London  SOLYD.UL  
    swung
     to a pre-tax profit of 10.7 billion pounds in 2023, the
commercial insurance market said, boosted by strong underwriting
and investment performance.
  
    * AO WORLD: AO World  AO.L  expects annual adjusted pretax
profit to be at the top-end of its previous forecast.
        * ENQUEST: British North Sea-focused oil producer
EnQuest  ENQ.L  
    narrowed
     its annual loss to $30.8 million last year, down from a
$41.2 million loss in 2022, it said on Thursday.
  
    * OIL: Oil prices edged up, following two consecutive
sessions of decline, as investors reassessed the latest data on
U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories and returned to buying
mode.
        * GOLD: Gold prices 
    steadied
     , as investors digested comments from Federal Reserve
Governor Christopher Waller on interest rate cuts.
  
    * METALS: Copper prices rose supported by output cut plans
agreed by top copper smelters in China.
        
  


        
  
    * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please
click on:  LIVE/     
    TODAY'S UK PAPERS
    > Financial Times                       PRESS/FT 
    > Other business headlines              PRESS/GB 


($1 = 0.7927 pounds)

 (Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru)
 ((Prerna.Bedi@thomsonreuters.com; +91 98052 24616;))