UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Jan. 4

Jan 4 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 38 points
higher at 6,499 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers.

* ASTRAZENECA: India's drugs regulator on Sunday approved for emergency use
two coronavirus vaccines, one developed by AstraZeneca AZN.L and Oxford
University and the other by local company Bharat Biotech and a state-run
institute. * ENTAIN: MGM Resorts International MGM.N is seeking to buy British gaming
company Entain ENT.L in the latest move by a casino operator to double down on
the online-gambling business, the Wall Street Journal reported on
Sunday. * ASTRAZENECA: About two million doses of vaccine developed by
Oxford/AstraZeneca AZN.L are set to be supplied every week by the middle of
January in the United Kingdom, The Times reported. * TRADING: Europe will see its biggest transfer of share trading in more
than two decades when stock exchanges open for business in 2021, with Brexit
shifting its centre of gravity away from London. * COVID-19: Britain will become the first country to roll out the low cost
and easily transportable AstraZeneca AZN.L and Oxford University COVID-19
vaccine on Monday, another step forward in the global response to the
pandemic. * COVID-19: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday tougher
lockdown restrictions were probably on the way as COVID-19 cases keep rising,
but that schools were safe and children should continue to attend where
permitted. * GOLD: Gold prices started the new year on a high by notching an eight-week
peak after surpassing the key $1,900 level, as a surge in COVID-19 cases and
prospects of tougher coronavirus control measures lured investors to the
safe-haven metal. * OIL: Oil prices rose on expectations that OPEC and allied producers may
cap output at current levels in February at a meeting later in the day as the
COVID-19 pandemic keeps worries about first-half demand elevated. * The UK blue-chip index .FTSE fell 1.5% on Thursday with trading session
lower and clocked its worst year since the 2008 financial crisis as the United
Kingdom widened restrictions to stem a new variant of the coronavirus raging
across the country. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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