(Adds futures, news items)
Aug 26 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 10
points higher at 6,047 on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, with
futures FFIc1 seen up 0.07% ahead of cash market open.
* PROVIDENT: Doorstep lender Provident Financial PFG.L sank to a loss in
the first half of 2020 and suspended its interim dividend, as customers struggle
to pay off their debts during the coronavirus crisis. * COPPER: Copper prices rose on optimism over progress in U.S.-China trade
talks and signs that researchers might be closer to a treatment for the
coronavirus. MET/L
* GOLD: Gold was little changed, as worries over global economic outlook
offset pressure from signs of progress in U.S.-China trade negotiations, while
investors await a speech from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
GOL/
* OIL: Brent crude oil prices rose, lifted by U.S. producers shutting most
of their offshore output in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of Hurricane Laura and
optimism over China-U.S. trade talks. O/R
* The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed lower on Tuesday, weighed down by
miners and a stronger pound, while an unexpected drop in retail sales kept risk
sentiment at bay. .L
* 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