Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 19 points lower at 6,105 on
Thursday, according to financial bookmakers.
* ASTRAZENECA: AstraZeneca AZN.L is eyeing the further growth of its
respiratory treatments business as a three-drug inhaler was shown to prevent
flare-ups and death in cases of smoker's lung. * INSURANCE: An action group representing almost 400 British businesses shut
by the coronavirus pandemic has made a bid to team up with Britain's markets
watchdog to bolster a High Court case to decide which insurers should pay
out. * EASYJET: Budget airline easyJet EZJ.L on Wednesday reported a bigger
loss for the first half as it took a 160-million-pound hit ($199 million) from
failed fuel hedging. * MITIE GROUP: Mitie Group Plc is in advanced discussions to buy
Interserve's facilities management arm for more than 250 million pounds ($310.45
million). * PRIVATE BANKER: Coutts, British wealth manager and private banker to the
Queen, plans to cut carbon emissions in its funds and portfolios by 25% before
the end of 2021. * OIL: Oil prices slipped, extending losses of more than 5% in the previous
session, weighed down by record high U.S. crude inventories. * GOLD: Gold edged lower, easing off a near eight-year high hit in the last
session, as a selloff in equity markets driven by a surge in coronavirus cases
prompted some investors to dump assets. * The UK blue-chip index .FTSE close down 3.1% on Wednesday, as a spike in
novel coronavirus cases across the globe compounded fears of a second wave of
the pandemic. UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Royal Mail RMG.L FY Earnings Releases
Auto Trader Group AUTOA.L FY Earnings Releases
Mitie Group MTO.L FY Earnings Releases
Redcentric RCN.L FY Earnings Releases
N Brown Group BWNG.L FY Earnings Releases
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