Gold prices hold sharp gains as soft US jobs data fuels Fed rate cut bets
April 1 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 11
points higher at 6,725 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers.
* COVID-19: People in Britain have turned positive about the government's
handling of the coronavirus crisis and companies are also more optimistic,
according to three surveys. * GOLD: Gold bounced back from a three-week low hit in the previous
session. * OIL: Crude prices rose, recouping some of the previous session's losses on
expectations that a meeting of OPEC and its allies later on Thursday would yield
output constraint in the face of resurgent COVID-19 infections in some
regions. * The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed 0.9% lower on Wednesday, dragged
down by banks and energy stocks, while food delivery company Deliveroo's shares
slumped more than 26% on its trading debut. UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Next Plc NXT.L FY results
* 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