Dec 10 - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 12 points higher at 6,576 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers.
BREXIT: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the EU's chief executive gave themselves until the end of the weekend to seal a new trade pact after failing to overcome persistent rifts over a "frank" and "lively" dinner of turbot on Wednesday.
COVID-19: Britain's medicine regulator said anyone with a history of anaphylaxis to a medicine or food should not get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, giving fuller guidance on an earlier allergy warning about the shot.
ASTRAZENECA: Jenner Institute Director Adrian Hill, who oversees the Oxford-AstraZeneca AZN.L COVID-19 vaccine research and development, said a vaccine would not be available in the United States until "the middle of next year" if regulators wait for the end of their vaccine trial.
HOUSE PRICES: British property surveyors reported that house prices increased at close to their fastest rate in more than 20 years last month, extending a post-lockdown boom, but they expect sales to fall when a temporary tax break expires in March 2021.
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE: London Stock Exchange Group LSE.L said on Wednesday it expects the green light from outstanding regulatory scrutiny of its $27 billion deal to buy data and analytics company Refinitiv.
GOLD: Gold prices were little changed after a steep sell-off in the previous session as a breakthrough in long-running negotiations among U.S. lawmakers over a pandemic relief package remained elusive.
OIL: Oil prices rose in early trade buoyed by a COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Britain and the imminent approval of a vaccine in the United States, which could spur a rebound in fuel demand, despite a large build in U.S. crude stocks last week. The UK blue-chip index .FTSE edged higher on Wednesday ahead of talks that could decide whether or not Britain ends 2020 with a messy no-deal exit from the European Union.
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