UK Stocks-Factors to watch on October 21 (updated)

Halfords

Yesterday 08:04

Adds new items, updates futures
Oct 21 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index opened 0.03% lower on Wednesday.
* JACKDAW: Britain approved the Jackdaw North Sea gas field, ending years of legal and political wrangling that had pitted the Labour government's climate commitments against its push to bolster energy security.
* QUILTER: Quilter QLT.L reported a rise in third-quarter net inflows, as geopolitical uncertainty and unpredictable markets drove demand for financial advice and boosted client trading activity.
* HALFORDS: Halfords posted a rise in like-for-like first-half sales and retained its annual profit forecast, as extended summers helped push sales of cycling, outdoor and camping equipment higher.
* INFLATION: British inflation rose by more than expected last month, according to data that is likely to intensify calls for support for households in next week's budget.
* BORROWING: Britain's government borrowed more than expected again in September and public debt surpassed £3 trillion, according to official data.
* PAY SETTLEMENTS: Pay settlements by British employers edged up in the three months to the end of September but there was little sign of a shift in wage trends, human resources data firm Brightmine said on Wednesday.
* BANK OF ENGLAND: Bank of England policymaker Megan Greene said the risks of a pickup in broader inflation as a result of the energy price shock from the Iran war were greater than the BoE expected and she reiterated her view that interest rates should go up.   
* REVOLUT: British bank Revolut's website said some services had started working again by 1700 GMT on Tuesday, after an hours-long Google Cloud outage that disrupted several financial firms and public-sector websites.
COMMODITIES: Oil prices gained, gold eased, and copper held largely steady. 
* 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 Tuhina in Bengaluru)
 ((tuhina@thomsonreuters.com))