(Updates futures, adds news items)
April 16 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is
seen opening higher on Friday, with futures FFIc1 up 0.2%
ahead of market open.
* OCADO: Ocado OCDO.L said it would invest 10 million
pounds in autonomous vehicle software company Oxbotica as part
of a partnership that aims to reduce the cost of last-mile
delivery and other logistics. * GRAFTON: Grafton Group GFTU_u.L said it has appointed
Rothschild & Co to review some of its traditional merchanting
businesses in Britain. * ASHMORE: Ashmore Group ASHM.L said that its assets under
management fell by $3.1 billion during the first three months of
2021. * MAN GROUP: Man EMG.L expects its customers to put in
more money in the coming quarters as client engagement was
positive this year, the British hedge fund manager
said. * GLOBALWORTH: A top executive at German real estate company
Aroundtown AT1.DE said its proposed 1.57 billion euro takeover
bid, made with partner CPI Property O5G.DE , for Globalworth
Real Estate GWI.L was attractive for shareholders but he did
not rule out lifting the offer. * FINANCE: Britain's financial firms and regulators should
step up the use of technology to cut the cost of compliance and
make the City of London more globally competitive, a report
said. * OIL: Oil prices extended gains and were on course for a
weekly gain of about 7% with an improved oil demand outlook and
strong economic recoveries in China and the United
States. * GOLD: Gold held steady near a more than one-month high, en
route to its second straight weekly gain, boosted by a drop in
U.S. Treasury yields and a weaker dollar. * London's FTSE 100 ended higher on Thursday on the back of
gains in healthcare heavyweight GlaxoSmithKline and mining
stocks, while hopes of a faster economic recovery lifted the
mid-cap index to record highs. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please
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