Oct 5 - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 21 points higher at 7,440 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers.
* INTU: A consortium including British billionaire John Whittaker and Canada's Brookfield Asset Management BAMa.TO is considering a bid for Intu Properties INTUP.L , the 2 billion-pound ($2.6 billion) shopping centre owner. GOLD: Gold prices held steady early Friday as investors remained cautious after U.S. Treasury yields hit multi-year peaks and ahead of monthly employment data, which if stronger could boost the Federal Reserve's case for a tighter monetary policy. OIL: Oil prices rose on Friday as traders focused on U.S. sanctions against Iran's crude exports that are set to start next month to tighten global markets. The UK blue chip index fell 1.2 percent to 7,418.34 points on Thursday as rising U.S. yields took their toll across global stock markets. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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