Dec 24 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 futures index FFIc1 was up 0.58% on
Thursday.
* VODAFONE: India has challenged in Singapore an international arbitration
court's verdict against it over a $2 billion tax claim involving Vodafone Group
Plc VOD.L , a senior government official told Reuters on condition of
anonymity. * RIO TINTO: Rio Tinto Ltd RIO.AX and Indigenous Australians said they had
taken initial steps towards rebuilding their relationship after the miner
destroyed sacred Aboriginal caves in Western Australia in May. * BREXIT: Britain and the European Union were on the cusp of striking a
narrow trade deal on Thursday, swerving away from a chaotic finale to the Brexit
split that has dealt a blow to the 70-year attempt to forge European unity from
the ruins of World War Two. * GOLD: Gold prices rose as the dollar eased and investors bet on further
U.S. stimulus though President Donald Trump threatened to veto a long-awaited
pandemic relief bill. * OIL: Oil climbed for a second day, in light holiday trade as a drawdown in
U.S. stockpiles of crude and gasoline raised demand hopes, while hints of an
imminent Brexit deal raised investors' risk appetite. * The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed 0.7% higher on Wednesday although a
jump in the pound kept the dollar earners' gains in check GBP/ . The
domestically focused FTSE 250 .FTMC , considered a proxy to Brexit sentiment,
ended at session high, up 1.7% after a senior European diplomat told Reuters
that a UK-EU agreement was in "final stages"
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