China smartphone shipments slumped in June on inventory overhang: Jefferies
(Adds company news items and futures)
Oct 23 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 16
points lower at 7,197 on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, with
futures FFIc1 down 0.07% ahead of cash market open.
* METRO BANK: Vernon Hill, the founding chairman of struggling British
lender Metro Bank MTRO.L has stepped down from his role with immediate effect,
handing interim control to board member Michael Snyder. * HOCHSCHILD MINING: Precious metals miner Hochschild Mining HOCM.L
reported a near 9% jump in third-quarter gold production, helped by higher
output at its Inmaculada mine in southern Peru, and said its debt has more than
halved in the period. * ANTOFAGASTA: Chilean miner Antofagasta Plc ANTO.L reported a 4.6% rise
in quarterly copper output, buoyed by better quality ore from its Centinela mine
in northern Chile, but warned that recent unrest in the South American country
could hurt production. * GOLD: Gold prices were steady, as investors awaited more clarity on the
Brexit and the U.S.-China trade war, but a rally in the bond markets provided
modest support to the bullion. * OIL: Oil fell after gaining over 1% in the previous session as U.S.
industry data showed a bigger-than-expected build in crude stockpiles, but the
possibility of deeper output cuts from OPEC and its allies contained the
decline. * The UK blue chip index closed 0.7% higher on Tuesday as uncertainty over
whether British lawmakers would support the government's Brexit deal took its
toll on the pound. * 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