GKN PLC Share News (GKN)

March 23 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening down72 points on Friday, according to financial bookmakers. * BANK OF ENGLAND: The Bank of England kept interest rates steady onThursday but two policymakers unexpectedly voted for a hike, reinforcing theview among economists that borrowing costs will rise in May for only the secondtime since the 2008 financial crisis. * DANA CONTRACT: Auto components maker Dana Inc said on Thursday itwould supply front and rear axles for the next generation of Jaguar and LandRover luxury vehicles in a contract worth 300 million pounds ($423.42million). The contract wins come as Dana has been in the midst of a bidding war withMelrose to merge with British engineering company GKN'sautomotive business. * BRITAIN FINTECH: Britain announced a task force on Thursday to exploit thetechnology underpinning cryptoassets, such as bitcoin and othercryptocurrencies, as part of new plans to help fintech companies find morecustomers. * OIL: Oil prices jumped more than 1 percent on Friday, pushed up by Saudiplans for OPEC and Russian led production curbs introduced in 2017 to beextended into 2019 in order to tighten the market. * GOLD: Gold prices rose to a two-week high early Friday on a softer dollaras investors scurried to safety after U.S. President Donald Trump took a steptowards long-promised anti-China tariffs, stoking fears of a global trade war. * The UK blue chip index closed 1.2 percent lower at 6,952.59 on Thursday,hit by concerns over potential trade wars and following a hawkish surprise fromthe Bank of England's policy meeting. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets * UK CORPORATE DIARY: Smiths Group Plc Half Year 2018 Earnings Release Next Plc Full Year 2017 Earnings Release TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * For Top News : http://topnews.reuters.com (Reporting by Radhika Rukmangadhan in Bengaluru)