July 10 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen

opening up on Friday, with futures up 0.1%.

* VODAFONE ( VOD ): UAE's telecom operator E& Group said

it will sell its entire stake in Vodafone ( VOD ) for $5.95

billion.

* ASTRAZENECA ( AZN ): A U.S. appeals court upheld a ruling for

AstraZeneca ( AZN ) against allegations that its blockbuster

lung-cancer drug Tagrisso infringed patents owned by Pfizer ( PFE )

subsidiary Wyeth.

* SHOPPING: The number of people visiting British shops fell

3.4% in June from a year earlier as a heatwave kept many

indoors, industry data showed.

* OIL: Oil prices fell in early trading but remained on

track for weekly gains as the United States and Iran continued

trading strikes.

* GOLD/PRECIOUS: Gold edged lower and was on track for a

weekly fall on concerns that escalating U.S.-Iran tensions could

fuel inflation and keep the Federal Reserve on a hawkish

monetary policy path.

* METALS: Copper advanced, supported by a weak dollar and

easing fears around a rash of tit-for-tat strikes between the

U.S. and Iran.

* The UK's FTSE 100 ended slightly lower on Thursday as

heavyweight AstraZeneca ( AZN ) dropped after reporting disappointing

results from a late-stage trial, offsetting gains in mining and

bank stocks.

* UK CORPORATE DIARY:

MJ Gleeson FY trading

statement

* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please

click on:

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

> Financial Times

> Other business headlines

(Compiled by Megha Kumari in Bengaluru)