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Dec 24 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 futures index FFIc1 was up 0.45%
ahead of the cash market open on Thursday.
* JAGUAR LAND ROVER: Luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover has not seen any
impact so far from issues at UK ports, its parent Tata Motors TAMO.NS said,
even as many countries cut transport ties with Britain due to a fast-spreading
new variant of the coronavirus. * VODAFONE: India has challenged in Singapore an international arbitration
court's verdict against it over a $2 billion tax claim involving Vodafone Group
Plc VOD.L , a senior government official told Reuters on condition of
anonymity. * RIO TINTO: Rio Tinto Ltd RIO.AX and Indigenous Australians said they had
taken initial steps towards rebuilding their relationship after the miner
destroyed sacred Aboriginal caves in Western Australia in May. * BREXIT: Britain and the European Union were on the cusp of striking a
narrow trade deal on Thursday, swerving away from a chaotic finale to a Brexit
split that has shaken the 70-year project to forge European unity from the ruins
of World War Two. * GOLD: Gold prices edged up as the dollar eased and investors bet on
further U.S. stimulus though President Donald Trump threatened to veto a
long-awaited pandemic relief bill. * OIL: Oil climbed for a second day, in light holiday trade as a drawdown in
U.S. stockpiles of crude and gasoline raised demand hopes, while hints of an
imminent Brexit deal raised investors' risk appetite. * The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed 0.7% higher on Wednesday although a
jump in the pound kept the dollar earners' gains in check GBP/ . The
domestically focused FTSE 250 .FTMC , considered a proxy to Brexit sentiment,
ended at session high, up 1.7% after a senior European diplomat told Reuters
that a UK-EU agreement was in "final stages"
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