March 26 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 37 points higher at 6,712 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers.
* BURBERRY: BRBY.L has lost a Chinese brand ambassador and its hallmark tartan design was scrubbed from a popular video game, becoming the first luxury brand assailed by the Chinese backlash to Western accusations of abuses in Xinjiang. ASTRAZENECA: Oxford University said on Thursday it was launching a study to investigate immune responses of a nasal administration of its COVID-19 vaccine developed with AstraZeneca AZN.L . KAZ MINERALS: The consortium bidding for Kaz Minerals KAZ.L is set to increase its 3.7 billion pounds offer for the London-listed copper miner, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. AUTOS: British car production fell to its lowest February level since 2010 after an annual 14% drop as lockdown measures, global supply chain problems and new customs processes hit the industry, a trade body said. GOLD: Gold prices were on course for a first weekly decline in three as elevated Treasury yields and a firm U.S. dollar dented safe-haven bullion's appeal even as the metal steadied on the day. OIL: Oil prices bounced back from a plunge a day earlier on concerns that a large container ship that ran aground in the Suez Canal may block the vital shipping lane for weeks. The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed 0.6% lower on Thursday on a slide in energy and mining stocks, while concerns over renewed coronavirus lockdowns in Europe dented optimism for a swift economic recovery. UK CORPORATE DIARY:
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