UK Stocks-Factors to watch on Dec 6

Dec 6 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening lower on Friday, with futures FFIc1 down 0.2%.

* DIRECT LINE: Insurance company Aviva AV.L has sweetened its bid for UK's Direct Line DLGD.L to about 3.4 billion pounds ($4.33 billion), or 261 pence per share, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

* RIO TINTO: Rio Tinto's RIO.AX, RIO.L legacy Bougainville mine poses imminent life-threatening risks to locals, a report showed, prompting communities to call for the global miner to take action.

* ANTOFAGASTA: Chilean miner Antofagasta ANTO.L and Jiangxi Copper 600362.SS have agreed to significantly lower copper concentrate processing fees for 2025, four sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

* MARKS & SPENCER: British retailer Marks & Spencer MKS.L can demolish and rebuild its flagship Marble Arch store in central London, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said on Thursday, ending a three-year planning battle over the site.

* UK ECONOMY: One of Britain's leading employers' groups cut its estimate for economic growth next year due to measures in the new government's first budget, striking a gloomier note than other recent forecasts.

* OIL: Oil prices edged lower , with weak demand in focus after the OPEC+ group postponed planned supply increases and extended deep output cuts to the end of 2026.

* GOLD: Gold prices edged higher but headed for a second straight week of decline, while market participants braced for U.S. payrolls data that is expected to provide cues on the interest rate cut trajectory.

* METALS: Copper prices ticked up and were headed for weekly gains in the wake of a subdued U.S dollar, while traders looked for further signs of stimulus measures from top consumer China.

* FTSE 100: Britain's FTSE 100 index was barely changed on Thursday, as gains in the personal goods sector were limited by losses in real estate, while Frasers dropped to a more than two-year low after lowering its annual profit forecast.

* UK CORPORATE DIARY:

* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

> Financial Times PRESS/FT

> Other business headlines PRESS/GB

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru)

((abyjose.koilparambil@thomsonreuters.com))