(Adds news items, futures)
Sept 18 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 12
points lower at 7,309 on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, with
futures .FFIc1 down 0.1% ahead of cash market open.
* LLOYD'S OF LONDON: Lloyd's of London SOLYD.UL reported a pre-tax profit
of 2.3 billion pounds ($2.87 billion) in the first half of 2019, helped by a
cutback in underperforming business. * COBHAM: The $5 billion acquisition of British defence company Cobham
COB.L by U.S. private equity firm Advent International could be blocked on
national security grounds after the government ordered an investigation into the
agreed deal. * KINGFISHER: British home improvement retailer Kingfisher KGF.L on
Wednesday reported a 6.4% fall in underlying first half profit, mainly hurt by
the weak performance of its French operation. * PENDRAGON: British car dealer Pendragon PDG.L gave a grim outlook for
the year on Wednesday after posting a loss in the first-half as it cut prices to
offload its used car inventory. * DIAGEO: Diageo Plc DGE.L averted a planned strike on Tuesday at Scottish
distilleries after reaching an agreement on worker pay with the GMB and Unite
unions, a representative for the company said. * BAE SYSTEMS: Britain's BAE Systems BAES.L said on Tuesday it has won a
$318 million contract from the United States Army in order to upgrade M88
recovery vehicles to the M88A3 configuration. * WIZZ AIR: The boss of Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air WIZZ.L said he
did not expect Brexit to disrupt his operations, and that it could actually
present an opportunity to grow as competitors fall away. * BP: BP Plc BP.L was raising production on the large crude distillation
unit (CDU) at its 430,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Whiting, Indiana, refinery on
Tuesday following a minor upset, said sources familiar with plant operations.
* SHELL NIGERIA: Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria declared
force majeure on exports of Bonny Light crude oil, it said in a statement sent
to Reuters on Tuesday.
* OIL: Oil prices slipped on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous
session after Saudi Arabia's energy minister said the kingdom will restore lost
oil production by the end of the month. * GOLD: Gold prices were little changed on Wednesday amid cautious mood as
investors awaited cues on the U.S. central bank's stance on monetary easing,
while a drop in crude prices dented demand for safe-haven bullion. * The UK blue chip index closed marginally down at 0.01% ON Tuesday as
losses in oil major BP, triggered by a report that Saudi Arabia's output could
be back up quicker than expected, were countered by gains in so-called defensive
sectors.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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