LONDON, Dec 17 - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 60-69
points higher on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers following strong
gains overnight on Wall Street and in Asia after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut
interest rates on Tuesday to between zero and 0.25 percent.
The UK blue chip index closed 31.52 points higher on Tuesday at 4,309.08.
"The FTSE is currently indicating a strong opening, as traders wait for the
release of UK employment numbers," said David Evans, market analyst at
BetOnMarkets.com.
"After seeing the U.S. economy lose more then half a million jobs in
November, analysts will be looking to see how well the UK economy fared. Also
being released this morning are the minutes from the last BOE (Bank of England)
meeting. The FTSE will most likely stay in the green, unless the job loss number
comes out worse then expected," Evans added.
Britain's opposition Conservatives' poll lead over the ruling Labour Party
narrowed to 5 percentage points from 15 over the past month, an ICM opinion poll
showed on Tuesday.
The poll, published on the Guardian newspaper website, showed that
Conservative support had fallen to 38 percent from 45 percent in the same poll
last month, while Labour support had risen to 33 percent from 30 percent.
Oil issues will remain in focus with OPEC meeting Wednesday in Algeria.
"Early indications show that OPEC is looking cut between 1.5 and 2 million
barrels per day. This move has already priced into the market, so unless there
is a big surprise prices should stick to the 45 dollar level," David Evans said.
Ex-dividend factors will take just 0.3 of a point off the FTSE 100 index
Wednesday, with only United Utilities (UU.L: Quote, Profile, Research) losing its payout attraction.
* Wall St rallies, financials jump on Fed rate cut [ID:nLH513786]
* Nikkei climbs 0.5 pct after Fed rate cut, banks rise [ID:nLH539408]
* Dollar down vs yen after big Fed rate cut [ID:nT210808]
* Oil up more than $1 on OPEC supply cut expectations [ID:nSP305685]
* Gold retreats $10 after big rise on US rate cut [ID:nSYD146618]
UK stocks to watch on Wednesday
XSTRATA (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
Swiss-based miner Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) will consider its options after an
Australian court upheld an appeal by some of the country's indigenous
inhabitants to halt an expansion of its McArthur River zinc mine, the company
said on Wednesday. [ID:nSYD188803]
RETAILERS
Discounts and promotions have hit new heights in the run up to Christmas as
Britain's struggling retailers try to lure shoppers with huge price cuts of more
than 37 percent of the full selling price compared with 34 percent last year,
the latest data from business advisory company Ernst & Young's 2008 Christmas
pricing survey shows. [ID:nLG040825]
THOMSON REUTERS (TRIL.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
Thomson Reuters Corp. on Tuesday filed with U.S. regulators to issue up to
$3 billion of debt over the next 25 months, proceeds from which would be used
for general corporate purposes. [ID:nN16284840]
BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
A top BP executive on Tuesday praised President-elect Barack Obama's picks
to fill top energy posts but stressed that the new administration must clarify
its policies on renewable energy and opening new areas for oil and gas
exploration. [ID:nN16265202]
JOHN WOOD GROUP (WG.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
The oil services group will issue a trading update.
NATIONAL EXPRESS (NEX.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
The transport firm will issue a trading update.
SPORTS DIRECT INTERNATIONAL (SPD.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
The sporting goods retailer will report first-half results.
CHARTER (CHTR.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
The engineering group will issue a trading update.
CONNAUGHT (CNT.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
The support services firm holds its annual meeting.
CHARTERIS (CHIS.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
The business consultancy group holds its annual meeting.
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times [PRESS/FT]
> Other business headlines [PRESS/GB]
(Reporting by Jon Hopkins; Editing by Hans Peters)
