UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Feb. 21

By Reuters / February 21, 2017 / in.investing.com / Article Link

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening down 2 points at 7298 on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers.

* The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed flat in percentage terms at 7,299.86 points after climbing to an intra-day high of 7,329.56, the highest level since the middle of January. BHP: Mining giant BHP Billiton BHP.AX BLT.L rewarded shareholders with a bigger-than-expected dividend on Tuesday, signalling its growing confidence amid a resurgence in commodity prices. HSBC: HSBC Holdings HSBA.L reported a 62 percent slump in annual pre-tax profit that fell way short of analysts' estimates due to one-time charges related to some businesses, and announced a new $1 billion share buy-back. COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 traded flat at $6,071 a tonne by 0112 GMT, holding gains after a 1.9 percent rally the session before when it struck $6,105 a tonne, the strongest since Feb. 14. GOLD: Spot gold XAU= inched down 0.2 percent to $1,235.08 per ounce at 0058 GMT, while U.S. gold futures GCcv1 also fell 0.2 percent to $1,236.2. The dollar index .DXY edged up 0.1 percent to 101.09. OIL: U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was up 27 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $53.67 a barrel at 0511 GMT, after rising about 0.5 percent in a shortened session on Monday due to a U.S. national holiday. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets

* UK CORPORATE DIARY: Galliford Try Plc

GFRD.L

Half Year 2017 Earnings HSBC Holdings Plc

HSBA.L

Full Year 2016 Earnings BHP Billiton Plc

BLT.L

Half Year 2017 Earnings Anglo American Plc

AAL.L

Full Year 2016 Earnings Vernalis Plc

VER.L

Q2 2017 Earnings John Wood Group Plc

WG.L