LONDON: Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening up 11-17 points, or 0.3 percent on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, extending the previous session's advance in tandem with gains on Wall Street and in Asia after upbeat US data fuelled hopes the world's biggest economy could help the global growth picture.
The UK blue chip index closed up 21.34 points, or 0.4 percent on Thursday at 5,937.89, supported by the US data, better economic news from Germany and some robust corporate earnings.
US blue chips added 0.4 percent after the weekly jobless data showed the US labour market remained on the mend, although the index stalled as it approached levels not seen since before the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Asian shares ticked higher on Friday but gains were limited by concerns that rising oil prices could undermine the fragile euro zone economy and debt restructuring efforts and by moves to take profits after recent rallies.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.3 percent, with the growth-sensitive technology sector among the best performers.
The price of Brent crude climbed to a record high in euros on Thursday while copper erased earlier gains to shed 0.7 percent and gold was off three-month highs but steady.
The main UK macroeconomic focus will be on the second reading for British fourth-quarter GDP at 0930 GMT, with no change expected from the initial reading for a -0.2 percent quarterly decline, and annualised growth of 0.8 percent.
In the United States, the final reading for the February Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index forecast for 73,0 will be released at 1455 GMT. January US new home sales numbers come at 1500 GM.
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