Yahoo Finance UK stocks - Factors to watch on May 10
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May 10 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is expected to open 22 points higher at 7,229 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, while FTSE 100 futures were up 0.76 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* CHEMRING GROUP: Defence contractor Chemring Group Plc on Friday bumped up its operating profit expectations for the first half as it benefits from early insurance recoveries of a blast-hit site.
* PROVIDENT FINANCIAL: UK sub-prime lender Provident Financial Plc said on Friday that 96 percent of the shares held by its independent shareholders have yet to be signed up to a hostile takeover offer from Non-Standard Finance Plc (NSF), just days before a final deadline for the deal.
* LONMIN: Platinum miner Lonmin Plc, which is in the process of being taken over by Sibanye-Stillwater, expects full-year sales to be at the lower end of its target range, it said on Friday after reporting a drop in quarterly output.
* MILLENNIUM & COPTHORNE: Britain's Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Plc said on Friday group revenue per room fell in the first quarter, as ongoing renovations kept its major hotels in London and Singapore partially or fully closed.
* IAG: British Airways owner IAG Group on Friday reiterated that there would be no growth in operating profit in 2019 due to headwinds from higher fuel prices as it posted first quarter results in line with expectations.
* BARCLAYS, RBS, HSBC: Barclays Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc, and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc are among banks facing fines by EU antitrust regulators in coming weeks for rigging the multi-trillion dollar foreign exchange market, two people familiar with the matter said.
* BAE SYSTEMS: Leading British defence firm BAE Systems Plc said it was working with the government to deliver its contracts with Saudi Arabia after Germany extended its ban on exporting arms to the country.
* SHELL: Royal Dutch Shell Plc has plans to invest about $2 billion per year in Brazil through 2025, Chief Executive Ben van Beurden told newspaper Valor Econômico in an exclusive interview.
* OIL: Oil prices pared earlier gains on Friday, following U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff increase on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods took effect, escalating the trade dispute between the world's two biggest economies and oil consumers.
* GOLD: Gold prices edged higher on Friday, drawing support from increased trade tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff increase on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods took effect, putting the bullion on track for a weekly gain.
* The UK blue chip index lost 0.9 percent and was set for its steepest weekly fall since early December on Thursday, as markets remained wary of tariff hike as trade talks between the United States and China resumed in Washington.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times
> Other business headlines (Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka and Adil Bhat in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)
