UK Stocks-Factors to watch on December 4

Dec 4 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is up 0.11% on Thursday.

SHELL: Shell SHEL.L has stepped away from the Argentina LNG project, a year after signing a project development agreement with the country's state-controlled energy company YPF.

FRASERS: Frasers FRAS.L reaffirmed its full-year profit forecast despite what it called tough market conditions.

RIO TINTO: Rio Tinto RIO.L CEO Simon Trott outlined a plan to focus on cost cuts and productivity gains at his first strategy day.

SSP GROUP: SSP SSPG.L said it expects to deliver fiscal 2026 earnings per share at the upper end of its forecast range.

AJ BELL: AJ Bell AJBA.L raised its dividend and announced a share buyback after annual pre-tax profit jumped 22%.

NEW CAR MARKET: Britain's new car market is expected to fall by around 1% in November, according to preliminary industry data.

BALFOUR BEATTY: Balfour Beatty BALF.L forecast its 2025 underlying profit from operations to exceed last year's 252 million pounds.

TESLA UK SALES: Tesla's TSLA.O UK car sales fell 19% year-on-year in November, preliminary data from research group New AutoMotive showed.

GREAT BRITISH ENERGY: Great British Energy, a state-owned energy company, unveiled a five-year strategic plan aimed at accelerating the country's transition to renewable power to help meet its climate targets.

COMMODITIES: Oil prices gained on Thursday, gold prices held steady above the $4,200 mark, and Shanghai copper hit a record high.

EX-DIVS: SSE PLC SSE.L, ICG PLC ICGIN.L, Next PLC NXT.L and Babcock International Group BAB.L will trade without entitlement to its latest dividend pay-out on Thursday.

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