RE: Seemingly24 Apr 2026 08:38
April 24 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening lower on Friday, with futures FFIc1 down 0.86%.
* JD SPORTS: JD Sports JD.L chair Andy Higginson quit after pushing for chief executive Regis Schultz to be ousted and failing to win unanimous backing for the move from the retailerβs board, the Financial Times reported.
* TARIFFS: U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States will retaliate with a "big tariff" if Britain continues to target companies like Apple AAPL.O, Alphabet's Google GOOGL.O and Meta META.O with its technology tax.
* OIL: Oil prices rose on Friday due to fears of a renewed military escalation in the Middle East after Iran released footage of commandos boarding a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz and on reports Tehran's air defences had engaged "hostile targets.
* GOLD: Gold held steady on Friday, but was on track for a weekly drop as elevated oil prices fuelled fears of inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates amid stalled U.S.-Iran peace talks.
* METALS: Copper slipped on Friday as lingering uncertainty over Middle East peace talks, a firmer dollar and expectations of a global surplus in 2026 weighed on sentiment.
* FTSE: Britain's FTSE 100 closed a little lower on Thursday, with declines in heavyweight financials offset by some stocks after their corporate updates.
* UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Mondi
MNDI.L
Q1 trading update
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/
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