UK Stocks-Factors to watch on August 17 (updated)
UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on August 17 Adds news item, updates futures
Aug 17 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening higher on Monday, with futures FFIc1 up 0.3%.
* ASTRAZENECA: AstraZeneca AZN.L said it is discontinuing a late-stage trial that tested volrustomig plus chemotherapy in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
* CREDIT RATINGS: Fitch maintained its sovereign credit ratings on the United Kingdom at "AA-" with a "stable" outlook.
* HOUSE PRICES: Asking prices for newly listed homes in Britain recorded their biggest August fall since 2018 despite a modest pickup in activity after Prime Minister Andy Burnham took office, property website Rightmove said.
* JOBS: British employers remain reluctant to hire and confidence has stayed near its weakest levels outside the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
* OIL: Oil prices rose as fading expectations of a U.S.-Iran peace breakthrough and slower tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz reinforced geopolitical risk concerns in the market.
* GOLD: Gold drifted higher, supported by a weaker dollar and recent soft economic data that reduced expectations for a U.S. interest rate hike next month.
* METALS: Copper started the week strong, supported by tight availability, which also helped push a key spread even wider after last week hitting its widest in five years.
* 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 and Megha Kumari in Bengaluru)