London investors await spending statement

Britain's investors will next week focus on the government's hotly-awaited autumn spending statement and economic forecasts, which are due a day after the country faces a nationwide strike.

Traders will also continue to track the latest news flow on the eurozone crisis after another week of heavy losses for equities sparked by worries of spreading debt contagion.

London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed at 5164.65 points on Friday, down 3.70 per cent from a week earlier.

The index, whose 100 tracked companies include HSBC bank, oil giant BP and telecoms group Vodafone, had already lost 3.29 percent in value the previous week on eurozone debt tensions.

Next Wednesday, British public sector workers will stage a national strike over opposition to pensions reform.

A day earlier, British finance minister George Osborne delivers his autumn spending statement, and the government's independent fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, is expected slash its forecasts for growth.

British Prime Minister David Cameron this week revealed that Osborne would unveil plans in his statement to boost credit for small and medium-sized businesses and ramp up infrastructure investment without increasing borrowing.

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