UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Jan 3

Zegona Communications

03/01/2025 04:53

Jan 3 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100  .FTSE  index is
seen opening lower on Friday, with futures  FFIc1  down 0.03%.

    * UK CONSUMER: The number of people visiting British shops
last year fell by 2.2%, the biggest drop since 2021, industry
data showed, adding to signs of a broader economic slowdown.
    * ZEGONA: Zegona Communications  ZEG.L  said that its unit
Vodafone Spain has agreed to create a new fibre network company
in Spain with MasOrange, and the British firm is expected to
hold about 10% of the new venture.
    * TULLOW OIL: Tullow Oil  TLW.L  said the International
Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has ruled that the Branch Profit
Remittance Tax (BPRT) does not apply to its operations in the
Deepwater Tano and West Cape Three Points fields offshore Ghana.
    * SHEIN: Fast-fashion online retailer Shein, which is hoping
to list in London, faces a UK hearing on Jan. 7 where a British
parliamentary committee plans to question the firm, founded in
China in 2008, about the rights of workers in its supply chain.
    * OIL: Oil prices extended gains on Friday after closing at
their highest in more than two months in the prior session, amid
hopes that governments around the world may increase policy
support to revive economic growth that would lift fuel demand.  
    * GOLD: Gold edged up on Friday on a softer U.S. dollar and
safe haven flows, with the metal en-route for a weekly gain as
attention turned to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed
policy changes that could influence the economic and interest
rate outlook going forward.
    * The UK's FTSE 100 advanced higher on Thursday, the first
trading session of the year, boosted by gains in
commodity-linked stocks.
        
  
    * 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 Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru)
 ((Yamini.Kalia@thomsonreuters.com;))