UK Stocks Factors to watch on Dec 2

 

Britain's FTSE 100 is seen opening steady to 8 points lower on Wednesday, as investors pause for breath after sharp gains in the previous session.

The blue-chip index is seen dipping as much as 0.2 after it surged 2.3 percent on Tuesday, its biggest one-day gain in over four months as worries over Dubai's debt problems receded.

Miners are likely to garner more support after strong gains Tuesday with base metals firmer and gold hitting a record high above $1,200 per ounce,boosted by a weaker dollar.

Ex-dividend factors are set to take 2.39 points off the index with companies including London Stock Exchange, National Grid, SAB Miller and Severn Trent losing their payout attractions.

* US STOCKS-Dow hits 14-month high on data

* GLOBAL MARKETS-Gold sets new record

* Nikkei inches to 2-wk closing high, metals shares

* TREASURIES-Drift in Asia, labour data eyed

* FOREX-Dollar holds ground; yen soft as stocks up

* Oil eases to around $78, awaits EIA data

* Gold futures hit record above $1,210/oz

* METALS-Shanghai copper up, LME steady; new highs eyed

UK stocks to watch on Wednesday are:

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND

The British Treasury looks set to clash with some institutional investors in the bank after it took control of the bank's bonus pool, The Times reported.

BARCLAYS

The bank completed the sale of its asset management arm to U.S. fund manager BlackRock on Tuesday for $15.2 billion, or $1.7 billion more than when it struck the deal in June after a jump in BlackRock's share price.

LOGICA

The company has announced that it is to close the company's final salary pension scheme to new accrual from the second quarter of next year, The Times reported.

HERITAGE OIL, TULLOW OIL

Italian firm Eni's 1.5 billion dollar bid for the Ugandan oil fields owned by Heritage Oil could be derailed by a rival offer from Tullow Oil, The Daily Telegraph reported. A Tullow Oil said it was "considering exercising pre-emptionrights", the paper reported.

BP

The company has begun cleaning up an oil spill from a leaky Alaskan pipeline, but said it has not determined what cause of the leak or how much material spilled onto the snow covered tundra.

CADBURY

Chief executive Todd Stitzer is intending to use the company's cultural cachet and ethical history to rally shareholders against the takeover bid by Kraft, the Guardian reported.

KAZAKHMYS

The miner has cut costs by 20 percent since January and might end the year below its forecast cost range, chief financial officer Matthew Hird said on Tuesday.

INFORMA

The media group has walked away from a purchase of Germany's Springer Science + Business Media.

LIFE INSURERS, ASSET MANAGERS

Personal Accounts, the pension system covering British workers without retirement savings, could gather up to 10 billion pounds a year ($16.57 billion)for a grateful asset management industry, a UK government minister said.

SAGE GROUP

The company releases its full-year results.

BREWIN DOLPHIN

The company releases its full-year results.

OPTOS

The company releases its full-year results.