UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Dec. 8
Dec 8 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is expected to open higher on Friday, with futures down 0.18%. * SHELL: Shell sees a $5 billion offshore oil investment opportunity in Nigeria and pledged to spend a further $1 billion in five to 10 years to boost natural gas output for domestic supplies and exports, a presidential spokesperson said on Thursday, citing Shell's director of gas and upstream operations. * FCA: Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) can take too long to act and a sweeping post-Brexit internal revamp to make it nimbler will take years to complete, the National Audit Office said in a report. * SALARY: Starting salaries for newly appointed employees in Britain rose at the slowest pace since March 2021 last month, according to industry data that offered some comfort to the Bank of England in its fight against inflation pressures. * METALS: Prices of copper, often considered a gauge of global economic health, advanced. * GOLD: Gold prices were on track for their first weekly fall in four after the dollar firmed. * OIL: Oil benchmarks were headed for a seventh straight weekly decline on worries over a global supply surplus and weak Chinese demand. * FTSE 100: The UK's FTSE 100 was little changed on Thursday with investors on the sidelines ahead of U.S. payrolls data which could drive Federal Reserve rate cut expectations, while shares of Games Workshop and media firm Future pulled down the midcap index. * UK CORPORATE DIARY: AB FOODS AGM BERKELEY HY RESULTS HARGREAVES AGM ANGLO AMERICAN INVESTOR DAY * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines ($1 = 0.7933 pounds) (Reporting by Zainab Saifuddin Saifee in Bengaluru)
