UK Stocks-Factors to watch on May 28
UK Stocks-Factors to watch on May 28 May 28 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening lower on Thursday, with futures FFIc1 down 0.9%.
* BT: The British government will oppose any attempt from Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal to increase his stake in BT BT.L , citing the need to maintain sovereign control over "critical national infrastructure", the Financial Times reported citing people familiar with the matter.
* PPHE HOTEL: PPHE Hotel Group PPH.L said it has received a £920.9 million takeover proposal from Israel's Fattal Hotel Group.
* AUTO: UK auto production fell 1.2% year-on-year in April as a drop in commercial vehicle output and weak exports to China weighed on the industry, data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed.
* SERVICES: Sentiment among Britain's consumer-facing services businesses fell to its lowest since February 2025 this month and a recent rebound in business services morale reversed course, survey from the Confederation of British Industry showed.
* FOOD: Business confidence in Britain's food manufacturing sector has fallen to its lowest since the 2022 energy crisis, the industry's main lobby group said highlighting the growing impact of the Iran war.
* COMMODITIES: Oil prices jumped more than 3%, copper prices fell to a one-week low, and gold prices fell to a two-month low.
* FTSE: UK shares closed higher on Wednesday as hopes of a resolution to the Iran war pushed down crude prices and lifted risk appetite.
* EX-DIVS: National Grid NG.L, ABF ABF.L, Informa INF.L, Severn Trent SVT.L, Diploma DPLM.L, Intertek ITRK.L, DCC DCC.L, Kingfisher KGF.L, and Alliance Witan ALWA.L will trade without entitlement to its latest dividend pay-out on Thursday.
* UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Johnson Matthey | JMAT.L | FY results |
SSE | SSE.L | FY results |
IQE | IQE.L | FY results |
* 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))