UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 17
17/04/2026 06:34
April 17 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening higher on Friday, with futures FFIc1 up 0.1%. * SCHRODERS: Schroders SDR.L shareholders approved a 9.9 billion pound sale of the British asset manager to U.S. rival Nuveen. * ANGLO AMERICAN: Codelco [RIC:RIC:COBRE.UL] and Anglo American AAL.L plan to submit separate environmental studies to regulators for their planned shared copper mine in Chile, documents seen by Reuters show. * PUBLIC AND DEFENCE SPENDING: British finance minister Rachel Reeves on Thursday raised the prospect of cuts to some areas of public spending to invest more in the military and said she was working on ways to counter the country's energy vulnerabilities caused by the Iran war. * INVESTMENTS: The finance ministers of Britain and Australia have agreed to work together more closely to funnel investment from Australia's giant pension funds into new infrastructure, housing and energy projects in the UK. * OIL: Oil prices fell in early trade on optimism the Middle East conflict could be nearing an end after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel took effect and President Donald Trump said the U.S. and Iran may meet for talks on the weekend. * METALS: Copper eased amid a firmer dollar even as hopes of a peace deal between the United States and Iran kept prices on track for a fourth weekly gain. * GOLD: Gold held largely steady and was on track for a fourth straight weekly gain, as hopes for a U.S.-Iran peace deal eased fears of higher inflation and elevated interest rates. * UK'S FTSE 100: UK's main stock indexes closed higher lifted by energy stocks, as doubts about lasting resolution in the Middle East sent oil prices higher. * 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 (Compiled by Neeshita Beura in Bengaluru) ((Neeshita.Beura@thomsonreuters.com))