UK Stocks-Factors to watch on February 6 (updated)
06/02/2026 07:42
Adds new items, updates futures Feb 6 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening lower on Friday, with futures FFIc1 down 0.55%. * RIO TINTO: Australian shareholders in Rio Tinto RIO.AX have welcomed the mining giant's decision to end merger talks with Glencore GLEN.L, and said it is now up to the company to deliver on a new strategy that it has put so much weight on. * BP: United Steelworkers is asking workers at BP's BP.L refinery in Whiting, Indiana, to prepare for a strike or lockout, the union said. * BP: BP is looking for a partner to help boost output and share costs at Iraq's Kirkuk oil field, one of the Middle East's oldest, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. * SHELL: Shell SHEL.L hopes to produce gas from Venezuela's Dragon field in three years and have it processed in Trinidad and Tobago for export, CEO Wael Sawan told Bloomberg TV in an interview. * HOUSE PRICES: British house prices rose 0.7% in January, leaving them 1.0% higher than a year earlier, figures from mortgage lender Halifax showed. * OIL: U.S. crude futures rose slightly but were on track for their first weekly drop in seven weeks as supply concerns eased, and investors focused on the outcome of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks in Oman later in the day. * METAL: Copper is set to end a volatile week lower, as rising inventories and a stronger U.S. dollar pressured the market. * GOLD: Gold rose, and silver was gripped by volatility amid a rout in global stocks, while U.S. exchange operator CME raised margins on precious metals for a third time this year to mitigate risks. * 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))