(Adds futures, news items)
Jan 8 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 33 points
higher at 6,890 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures
FFIc1 up 0.29% ahead of cash market open.
* MARKS & SPENCER: Marks & Spencer MKS.L reported another big fall in
clothing and homewares sales in its Christmas quarter, as the COVID-19 pandemic
hit demand and restrictions to stem the spread of the virus closed
stores. * BARRATT DEVELOPMENTS: Barratt Developments BDEV.L said it expects to
resume dividends next month, after posting a 14.3% jump in forward home sales
for the first half as demand rebounded from COVID-19 lockdown lows. * MARSTON'S: Marston's Plc MARS.L said it expects pubs to be closed at
least until March as part of the latest national lockdown imposed across the
country, with some restrictions to remain on reopening. * PETS AT HOME: Pets at Home PETSP.L said it was expecting its annual
underlying pretax profit to be ahead of its previous expectations and reported
higher third-quarter sales as its stores remained open during COVID-19
restrictions. * SIGNATURE AVIATION: Blackstone Group Inc BX.N pushed ahead with its
proposal to buy out Signature Aviation SIGSI.L in a deal worth $4.29 billion,
securing the support of the private jet servicing company's biggest shareholder
Bill Gates' Cascade Investment. * LEKOIL: London-listed Nigerian oil company Lekoil 's LEK.L shareholders
will vote on Friday on an investor's bid to add three members to the company's
board, in the culmination of a bitter dispute between its founder and its
biggest shareholder. * ASOS: ASOS ASOS.L said it would invest 90 million pounds ($122 million)
in a new fulfilment centre in Staffordshire, central England. * COVID-19: The boss of Britain's biggest airport Heathrow said that new
rules requiring people arriving in England to present a negative COVID-19 test
result must only be temporary and the government must plan for how to end
it. * GOLD: Gold eased as the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields firmed, although
hopes for additional stimulus in the world's largest economy kept bullion on
course for a second straight weekly gain. * OIL: Oil prices held near 11-month highs and were on track for a strong
weekly gain as Saudi Arabia's pledge to cut output continued to buoy market
sentiment. * The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed 0.2% higher on Thursday as investors
bet on a bigger U.S. stimulus package under a Democrat administration, while
retailer Sainsbury jumped after raising its profit outlook. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
LIVE/
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times PRESS/FT
> Other business headlines PRESS/GB