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Jan 5 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 14 points lower at 6,557 on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 down 0.32% ahead of cash market open.
* MORRISONS: Morrisons MRW.L reported a rise in underlying sales in its latest trading period encompassing Christmas, benefiting from out of home eating and drinking being restricted by strict COVID-19 regulations. NEXT: Next NXT.L said its sales in the nine weeks to Dec. 26 were much better than it had expected, although an additional property provision of 40 million pounds resulted in it nudging down its pretax profit forecast. PLUS500: Plus500 Ltd PLUSP.L said it expects to report annual revenue of about $827 million, ahead of its own expectations, driven by strong trading volumes in financial markets amid the COVID-19 pandemic. SECURE TRUST BANK: Secure Trust Bank STBS.L has named David McCreadie as its new chief executive after long-serving leader Paul Lynam resigned to take over at the helm of Equiniti Group EQN.L . NETWORK INTERNATIONAL: Network International NETW.L said Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) MA.N executive Nandan Mer would succeed industry veteran Simon Haslam as the UK-listed company's new chief executive officer. BUSINESS: British finance minister Rishi Sunak will later on Tuesday set out plans to offer more help to businesses struggling under the renewed COVID-19 restrictions, a top cabinet minister said. COVID-19: Britain will shortly publish plans for new border restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19, Minister for the Cabinet Office Michael Gove said. GOLD: Gold prices eased after hitting an eight-week high, as the U.S. dollar recovered from multi-year lows ahead of Senate runoff elections in Georgia that will decide the future path of fiscal stimulus in the world's largest economy. OIL: Oil prices edged down before deadlocked talks between major producers about potential changes in February output are set to continue later in the day while fuel demand concerns lingered amid new COVID-19 lockdowns. The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed 1.7% higher on Monday in the first trading session of the new year, buoyed by optimism around vaccine rollouts, while a jump in metal prices helped boost the export-heavy FTSE 100 index. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/
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