UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 28

  • Reuters
  • Stock Market News
UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on April 28

(Updates futures, adds company news items)
April 28 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening down
by 23 points, or 0.4 percent, on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers,
with futures FFIc1 down 0.40 percent ahead of the cash market open. For more
on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on The UK blue chip index closed up 35.39 points, or 0.6 percent, at 6,319.91
on Wednesday, boosted by strong results from drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline GSK.L ,
while banking stocks were mixed as traders digested latest figures from Barclays
BARC.L and Standard Chartered STAN.L .
* ANGLO AMERICAN: Miner Anglo American AAL.L said on Thursday it had
agreed to sell its niobium and phosphates businesses to China Molybdenum for
$1.5 billion in cash to reduce its debt level.
* SCHRODERS: Schroders SDR.L , Britain's biggest listed asset manager,
posted a rise in first-quarter assets on Thursday, boosted by investment returns
and inflows from institutional clients.
* LLOYDS BANKING GROUP: Lloyds Banking Group LLOY.L reported underlying
profits in line with expectations on Thursday, keeping first-quarter revenues
steady and cutting bad debts despite the challenging economic environment.

* WPP: A step up in new business in the United States helped Britain's WPP
WPP.L , the world's biggest advertising company, to report first-quarter
like-for-like net sales growth in line with forecasts.
* TAYLOR WIMPEY: Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey Plc TW.L said that the
uncertainty surrounding Britain's upcoming referendum on its EU membership had
not impacted trading yet, as it reported a higher order book for the first four
months of the year.
* Tullow Oil: Oil and gas producer Tullow Oil TLW.L has reduced its annual
capital expenditure budget by another $100 million to $1 billion and may cut
spending further as it adjusts its balance sheet to weak oil prices.

* TUI: European tourism group TUI TUIT.L has agreed a deal to sell its
Hotelbeds unit to private equity group Cinven CINV.UL and Canada Pension Plan
Investment Board for 1.191 billion euros ($1.35 billion) in cash, it said on
Thursday.
* LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUP: The London Stock Exchange Group LSE.L and
Deutsche Boerse DB1Gn.DE said their planned $30 billion merger was on track
and steadily winning support, despite a looming UK vote on continued membership
in the European Union.
* GENEL: Genel Energy GENL.L , chaired by former BP (LON: BP ) head Tony Hayward, is
betting on a major deal with Turkey to jointly develop gas fields in Iraqi
Kurdistan which will help Ankara reduce its reliance on Russian supplies after
relations soured with Moscow.
* VICTREX: Invibio, a division of Victrex PLC VCTX.L that makes a key
polymer used in spinal and other medical implants, agreed to settle allegations
that it demanded exclusive contracts to illegally maintain its high market
share, the Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday.
* ROLLS-ROYCE: Bain & Company consultants have given the top executives of
Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc RR.L a study, which says that the engineering company
could boost profits by 1 billion pounds and match the profitability of US rival
GE GE.N , the Telegraph reported, citing sources.
* UK BREXIT: International investors have halted almost all their purchases
of British commercial property ahead of the European Union membership
referendum, a survey showed on Thursday, adding to signs that the vote is taking
a toll on the economy.
* UK INFLATION: Expectations among people in Britain for inflation over the
coming year rose in April to their highest level since July of last year
following a pick-up in official inflation data from below zero last year.

* EX-DIVS: Barratt Developments Plc BDEV.L , Informa Plc INF.L , ITV Plc
ITV.L , Legal & General Group Plc LGEN.L , Merlin Entertainments Plc MERL.L ,
Relx Plc REL.L , Travis Perkins Plc TPK.L and Unilever Plc ULVR.L will
trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming
7.52 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations ID:nL5N17S45Z

TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times PRESS/FT
> Other business headlines PRESS/GB
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