(Adds futures, news items)
April 6 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen
opening 42 points higher at 6,780 on Tuesday, according to
financial bookmakers, with futures .FFIc1 up 0.6% ahead of the
cash market open.
* BP PLC: BP BP.L expects to reach its $35 billion net
debt target in the first quarter of 2021, the energy group said
on Tuesday, following earlier-than-expected proceeds from
disposals and a "very strong" quarter. * WIZZ AIR: Wizz Air WIZZ.L said it operated just below
20% of its capacity in March, flying 480,000 passengers to
primarily European destinations, as restrictions due to COVID-19
continue to hold back travel. * UK NEW CAR SALES: British new car registrations rose by
around 11% on an annual basis in March, usually one of the two
top selling months of the year, according to preliminary
industry data released on Tuesday. * ASTRAZENECA: Britain's health regulator is considering a
proposal to restrict the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca AZN.L
vaccine in younger people over concerns about very rare blood
clots, Channel 4 News reported on Monday. * JOHNSON AND JOHNSON: The United States has put Johnson and
Johnson JNJ.N in charge of a plant that ruined 15 million
doses of its COVID-19 vaccine and has stopped British drugmaker
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Plc from using the facility, a senior health
official said on Saturday. * UK AIRLINES: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on
Monday his government wanted to get the aviation industry flying
again and would offer airlines "as much notice" as it could so
they can prepare for the resumption of non-essential foreign
travel. * LOANS: Britain will on Tuesday launch a government-backed
loan scheme to help companies access finance as the economy
reopens from a strict lockdown, offering maximum loans of 10
million pounds ($14 million). * OIL: Oil prices rose early on Tuesday as a drop in the
U.S. dollar made crude a more attractive buy, paring losses of
more than 4% incurred overnight on the prospect of producers
returning more than 2 million barrels per day of supply to the
market by July. * GOLD: Gold prices rose on Tuesday to their highest level
in more than a week as a weaker dollar and pullback in U.S. bond
yields lifted demand for the safe-haven metal. * The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE ended 0.4% higher
Thursday as hopes of a swifter economic rebound this year
boosted sentiment, while Quilter rose after agreeing to sell its
international business to Utmost Group. * 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