January 28, 2007	Sunday	Muharram 08, 1428

LONDON, Jan 27: The British stock market will zero in next week on a barrage of earnings from major blue-chips including energy giant Royal Dutch Shell and telecoms behemoth Vodafone.

Investors will also be on tenterhooks for the latest development in the ongoing takeover battles for control of the London Stock Exchange and Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus.

On Friday, London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares ended at 6,228.00 points, down 9.2 points or 0.14 percent from a week earlier.

However, the index had struck a six-year high of 6,335.10 points in intra-day trade on Thursday, owing largely to resurgent crude oil prices, before staging a modest pullback.

Next week sees a flood of earnings news, with Anglo-Dutch energy major Shell topping the bill on Thursday with its annual results, alongside pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca and mining giant Rio Tinto.

Other results due next week include insurance giant Prudential on Tuesday, and satellite broadcaster BSkyB and Vodafone on Wednesday.

—AFP