UK Stocks- Factors to watch on January 8

Marks and Spencer

08/01/2026 04:56

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening lower on Thursday, with futures FFIc1 down 0.3%.

* ANGLO AMERICAN: De Beers has attracted interest from several business groups and African governments as parent Anglo American AAL.L looks to offload its stake in the firm, the diamond giant's CEO told Reuters.

* OIL: Oil prices rose after two days of declines, as a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories provided some impetus for investors to buy futures while they monitor developments in Venezuela.

* METALS: Copper prices fell as investors booked profits, extending a pullback from recent record highs.

* GOLD: Gold prices dipped pressured by a firm dollar as investors geared up for a key jobs report later this week that could provide more hints on U.S. monetary policy moves and while they assess the U.S. pressure on Venezuela.

* FTSE: The FTSE 100 closed lower on Wednesday, stalling after a recent run of record highs as losses in energy and financial stocks weighed.

* EX-DIVS: Experian, Ashtead Group, and Sage Group will trade without entitlement to its latest dividend pay-out on Thursday.

* UK CORPORATE DIARY:

Marks and Spencer Group PLC
MKS.L
Christmas Trading Update
Tesco PLC
TSCO.L
Q3 & Christmas Trading Update
Shell
SHEL.L
Q4 2025 Trading Update
Greggs PLC
GRG.L
Q4 Trading Update

* 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))