(Corrects bullet 2 to say Standard Chartered ( SCBFF ) retained, not

raised, its earnings target)

Feb 21 - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen

opening lower on Friday, with futures down 0.08%.

* BOE: British consumers turned a little less pessimistic

this month as the Bank of England's latest interest rate cut led

to an improvement in expectations for their household finances,

according to a survey.

* STANDARD CHARTERED ( SCBFF ): Standard Chartered ( SCBFF ) announced

a $1.5 billion share buyback and an earnings target that it

retained, after reporting its annual profit rose 18% on the back

of record growth in its wealth business and strong markets

performance.

* ABRDN ( SLFPF ): Abrdn ( SLFPF ) is in advanced talks with Citic Bank

to launch an asset management joint venture in

China, two people with knowledge of the matter said, as the

British firm looks to bolster its presence in the world's

second-largest economy.

* LABOUR: The number of job postings in the United Kingdom

rose for the first time in seven months in January, a survey by

the Recruitment & Employment Confederation showed, suggesting

the country's jobs market might be weathering the hit from

higher taxes on employers.

* ELECTRICITY: Britain's electricity distribution network is

facing a fundamental role change to deliver the country's net

zero emissions target, requiring more proactive investments, a

report from a government-appointed commission found.

* OIL: Oil prices extended gains, headed for a weekly

increase.

* GOLD: Gold prices remained steady on Friday.

* METAL: London copper eased on Friday.

* The UK blue-chip index closed down 0.57% on

Thursday on a mixed bag of corporate earnings.

* UK CORPORATE DIARY:

Pantheon Half Year Earnings Release

International PLC

Hargreaves Lansdown Half Year Earnings Release

PLC

NCC Group PLC Half Year Earnings Release

* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please

click on:

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

> Financial Times

> Other business headlines

(Compiled by Simone Lobo in Bengaluru)