UK Stocks-Factors to watch on May 27
May 27 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening lower on Friday, with futures down 0.4%.
* ECONOMY: British finance minister Rishi Sunak said on Friday that the new 15 billion pounds cost-of-living support package would have less than 1 percentage point impact on inflation.
* LSL PROPERTY: LSL Property Services said its annual profit would be slightly behind last year, as rapid inflation lifted energy and staff costs, and deal completions at the residential services provider's joint venture was slower than expected.
* EASYJET: Low-cost carrier easyJet said an IT problem that caused it to cancel around 200 flights on Thursday had been resolved, but its programme could be disrupted for the rest of the day.
* TAX: The British government's 5 billion pound windfall tax plan for oil and gas producers includes an incentive for those producers to pump more fossil fuels, riling climate activists who had called for the tax.
* ASTRAZENECA: Although cancer screening and diagnosis was hit by the coronavirus pandemic, resulting advances in medical technology and greater diversity in clinical trials could help treatments in the future, an AstraZeneca executive said.
* ASDA: British supermarket group Asda reported a near double-digit fall in first quarter sales, which it said reflected comparison with exceptionally strong trading in the same quarter last year when the country was in a COVID-19 lockdown.
* GOLD: Gold prices firmed as the dollar continued to weaken, and helped put bullion on track for a second straight weekly rise amid cooling bets for a more aggressive Federal Reserve monetary policy.
* OIL: Oil prices hovered around a two-month high, with Brent crude on track for its biggest weekly jump in 1-1/2 months, supported by the prospect of an EU ban on Russian oil and the coming summer driving season in the United States.
* The UK's top share index rose on Thursday on the back of gains in banks, but shares of utilities slumped after Britain announced a 25% windfall tax on oil and gas producers' profits.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times
> Other business headlines (Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru)
