LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE is seen opening 9 to 14
points or 0.3 percent higher on Friday according to financial bookmakers,
tracking gains overnight on Wall Street and in Asia ahead of the latest U.S.
employment report which is expected to show the fewest job losses since August
2008.
The blue chip index closed 0.4 percent higher on Thursday as the Bank of
England and the European Central Bank kept interest rates steady, while data
from the U.S, which showed a rise in productivity and fall in initial weekly
jobless claims, also soothed investors' nerves.
The FTSE 100 is on track to rise 1.6 percent on the week, the best weekly
gain in a month. The index has so far rebounded 48 percent since hitting a
trough in March.
Investor focus for the day is likely to be on U.S. non-farm payrolls data,
due at 1330 GMT. The U.S. economy is expecetd to have shed 175,000 jobs in
October, the 22nd month of job losses, but slower than the 263,000 cuts seen in
September. Unemployment, however, is forecast to climb to 9.9 percent.
U.S. stocks received a boost on Thursday after strong results from Cisco
Systems (CSCO.O), which suggested a rebound in technology spending.
Shares in Asia MISPJ0000PUS also rose, with gains spread evenly across the
materials, industrials, technology and financials.
* GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks, oil rise ahead of US job data [ID:nSP181942]
* US STOCKS-Wall St rallies on economic data, Cisco [ID:nN05145242]
* Nikkei up but top-heavy, exporters and NEC gain [ID:nT218651]
* Dollar holds ground before jobs data, Aussie firms [ID:nT121060]
* TREASURIES-Slip before U.S. jobs data, debt supply [ID:nT349924]
* Oil rises toward $80, eyes on U.S. October jobs data [ID:nSYD392161]
* PRECIOUS-Gold hovers around $1,090, U.S. jobs data eyed [ID:nT215598]
* METALS-Shanghai copper up, market awaiting directions [ID:nSHA213320]
UK stocks to watch on Friday are:
ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (RBS.L)
The lender issues a third-quarter trading statement on Friday.
RBS will reveal the full details of the 240 billion pounds of corporate and
commercial loans that it intends to insure under the government's asset
protection scheme (APS), The Daily Telegraph reported.
BRITISH AIRWAYS (BAY.L)
The airline reports second-quarter results.
RENTOKIL INITIAL (RTO.L)
The company releases a third-quarter trading update.
SMITH & NEPHEW (SN.L)
The medical devices maker releases third-quarter results.
BHP BILLITON (BLT.L)
Repair work to Australia's Olympic Dam uranium and copper mine is on track
for a resumption of full production between January and March next year, the
miner said on Friday. [ID:nSYU009008]
TATE & LYLE (TATE.L)
The sugar refiner releases first-half results.
UNITED BUSINESS MEDIA (UBM.L)
The media group releases a trading update.
DECHRA PHARMACEUTICALS (DECP.L)
The pharmaceutical company releases a trading update.
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times [PRESS/FT]
> Other business headlines [PRESS/GB]
Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for:
* 3000 Xtra : visit topnews.session.rservices.com
* BridgeStation: view story .134
For more information on Top News visit
topnews.reuters.com
(Reporting by Harpreet Bhal)
