UK at a Glance-UK Stocks -- Factors to watch on March 31
LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening as much as 0.8 percent higher on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers, clawing back some of the previous session's sharp losses as crude prices bounced and traded above $49 a barrel. Financial spreadbetters expected the UK benchmark to open 23 to 29 points higher after tumbling 135.94 points, or 3.5 percent at 3,762.91 on Monday. A survey showed British consumers grew less gloomy in March as lower mortgage repayments boosted disposable income even as the recession took an increasingly heavy toll on jobs. In Asia, Japanese unemployment rose to a three-year high in February as a deepening recession put more people out of work, underlining government urgency to come up with fresh stimulus for the world's second-largest economy . Tokyo's Nikkei (news) average was down 1 percent. * Wall St hits the brakes on autos, bank woes * Asia stocks set for biggest jump in a decade * Oil rises towards $49; econ worries, dollar weigh * Dollar, euro advance vs yen on fiscal year-end demand * TREASURIES-Drop in Asia as U.S. stock futures gain * Gold steady as dollar, stocks eyed, ETF unchanged UK stocks to watch on Tuesday are: BARCLAYS (LSE: BARC.L - news) The bank (TBHS - news) rejected an offer to take part in a British government plan to insure risky assets, saying it would not be in the interests of its investors to do so. ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (LSE: RBS.L - news) , LLOYDS BANKING GROUP (LSE: LLOY.L - news) Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland should make 'significant' profits again when the economy recovers, said the head of the body managing the British government's stakes in troubled banks. ASTRAZENECA (LSE: AZN.L - news) AstraZeneca's cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor failed to significantly reduce heart problems and death among dialysis patients, researchers said on Monday. MARKS & SPENCER The retailer is due to release its trading update. KAZAKHMYS (LSE: KAZ.L - news) The miner is due to release its preliminary results. COMPASS GROUP (LSE: CPG.L - news) The caterer is due to release its trading update. CAIRN ENERGY (Virt-X: CNE1.VX - news) The company is due to release its preliminary results. ENTERPRISE INNS (LSE: ETI.L - news) The company is due to release its trading update. BELLWAY (LSE: BWY.L - news) The builder is due to release its first-half results. TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines (Reporting by Dominic Lau; Editing by Mike Nesbit) Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit http://topnews.session.rservices.com * BridgeStation: view story .134 For more information on Top News visit http://topnews.reuters.com Keywords: MARKETS BRITAIN FACTORS
