News: SVM UPDATE 1-UK Stocks-Factors to watch on July 17

(Adds news items, updates futures)

July 17 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening lower on Monday, with futures FFIc1 down 0.54%.

• RIO TINTO: Australia's Sovereign Metals (SVM) said global miner Rio Tinto RIO.L agreed to buy a 15% stake in the company and work closely with it to develop a rutile and graphite project in Malawi.
• Gresham House: U.S.-based investment firm Searchlight Capital Partners said it will buy British alternative asset manager Gresham House GHE.L for 469.8 million pounds ($614.87 million).
• DFS Furniture: DFS Furniture DFSD.L said profits in fiscal 2024 are

  expected to grow

  as the British retailer cuts costs to bolster margins despite a 'significantly worse than expected' market.

  *GROCERY PRICING: British consumer group Which? has urged the government to take action to support households when the competition watchdog publishes its review of grocery pricing, saying some food prices have jumped by as much as 175% since 2021.

• INFLATION: Finance executives at top British firms have turned more cautious in the face of high inflation and rising interest rates and they expect a slowdown in hiring and pay increases, a survey showed on Monday.
• HOUSE PRICES: Asking prices for residential homes in Britain fell in July as rising mortgage costs and increasing buyer affordability constraints prompted sellers to temper their price expectations, an industry survey showed on Monday.
• OIL: Oil prices extended their decline into a second session on Monday after China's economic data showed growth slowed in the second quarter.
• GOLD: Gold prices edged lower as the dollar inched up.
• Britain's FTSE 100 edged lower on Friday as a drop in oil stocks outweighed gains in industrials.
• For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:

  TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines