(Adds news items, Updates futures)
Jan 5 - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening lower on Friday with futures down 0.61%.
* ITHACA ENERGY: North Sea oil and gas producer Ithaca Energy said that its Chief Executive Officer Alan Bruce would step down after about two years in the top role.
* HOUSE PRICES: British house prices
rose
in annual terms in December for the first time in eight months, mortgage lender Halifax said, adding to signs of a stabilisation in the property market after a hit from higher borrowing costs.
* ENDEAVOUR MINING: Endeavour Mining, said it had removed CEO Sebastien de Montessus with immediate effect, citing "serious misconduct".
* SMMT: British new car market recorded its best year since the COVID-19 pandemic as easing supply chain issues helped fulfil pent-up demand for fleet vehicles, an industry body said.
* OIL: Oil prices edged higher after minutes from a Federal Reserve meeting suggested inflation was under control and as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepared to visit the Middle East to try and prevent the Israel-Gaza conflict from widening.
* GOLD: Gold was headed for its first weekly drop in four, as reduced bets for an early interest rate cut in the U.S. boosted the dollar and bond yields, while investors awaited a key employment report.
* METALS: Copper prices edged up, underpinned by supply concerns of the metal, which offset shifting investor expectations of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times
> Other business headlines (Reporting by Anchal Rana in Bengaluru)
