FTSE seen opening 35-46 points lower

 

FTSE 100 is seen opening 35-46 points lower on Friday according to financial bookmakers, extending losses from the previous session following weakness in Asia as worries about the global economy mounted after Dubai's debt problems emerged.

The index is seen opening down as much as 0.9 percent after shares ended at a three-week closing low on Thursday, off 170.68 points, or 3.2 percent at 5,194.13 as investors turned cautious after Dubai said two of its flagship firms planned a delay in repayment of debt.

Shares in Asia Pacific outside Japan shed 4.1 percent, while Japanese stocks fell 3.2 percent. Shares on Wall Street will resume trading on Friday, after being closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, although only for a half-day.

Trading on the FTSE 100 is expected to be volatile with a lack of economic data or much corporate news from Britain or the United States, although subdued volumes are likely to pick up in the afternoon session after Wall Street resumes trading.

In a further setback for the British economy, finance minister Alistair Darling will downgrade the 2009 economic outlook when he presents his pre-budget report next month but still point to growth resuming at the turn of the year as he predicted in April, a UK Treasury source told Reuters.

Stocks to watch on Friday are:

LLOYDS BANKING GROUP

The lender's shares trade ex-rights on Friday following overwhelming support for the bank's plans for a 13.5 billion pound cash call.

Meanwhile, finance minister Alistair Darling broke guidelines by not disclosing loans of more than 60 billion pounds to Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds last year, a top lawmaker said on Thursday. 

ASTRAZENECA

The drugmaker plans to move all production of the vital molecules in its medicines mainly to China, the Times newspaper reported.

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL

PetroChina and Royal Dutch Shell have started joint exploration of a shale gas block in China in an effort to find alternative gas sources to meet China's rising demand, the China Petroleum Daily reported on Friday.

STANDARD LIFE

Standard Life Investments (SLI) said on Thursday it is raising up to 75 million pounds by mid-December for a fund aimed at capturing the recovery in Europe's hard-hit commercial property market.

CARPHONE WAREHOUSE

The mobile phone retailer reports first-half results.

VECTURA GROUP

The drug company reports first-half results.

HOLIDAYBREAK

The holiday firm posts full-year results.

HOGG ROBINSON

The business travel firm reports first-half results.