UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Feb 16

Petrofac

16/02/2024 04:50

Feb 16 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100  .FTSE  index is
seen opening higher on Friday, with futures  FFIc1  up 0.7%. 
    
    * BP: The Biden administration has awarded Strategic
Petroleum Reserve (SPR) contracts for 2.95 million barrels of
oil worth about $229.5 million to four companies including BP
Products North America  BP.L , the U.S. Energy Department said.
    * THE INDEPENDENT: British media group The Independent is in
talks to take control of BuzzFeed  BZFD.O  and Huffington Post's
operations in the UK and Ireland in a multi-year deal, according
to a person familiar with the matter.
    * PETROFAC: Two men have been charged with bribery in
relation to the award of contracts to oilfield services provider
Petrofac  PFC.L  and are due to appear in a London court on
Monday, according to court listings.
    * OIL: Oil prices stalled over a forecast of slowing demand
by the International Energy Agency after gaining in the previous
session on weak U.S. retail sales data that sparked optimism
that the Fed might cut interest rates sooner than expected.
    * METALS: Copper prices rose to a one-week high as
weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales data revived hopes for an
interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve in June and lifted
risk sentiment among investors.
    * FTSE: UK equities gained on Thursday, buoyed by a fall in
government bond yields after data showed the British economy
fell into a recession at the end of 2023, building the case for
the Bank of England to ease its monetary policy.
    
    * UK CORPORATE DIARY:   
 NatWest Group     NWG.L     FY Results
     Segro         SGRO.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 

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