(Adds futures, more company news)
Aug 22 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen
to opening 29 points lower at 7,175 on Thursday, according to
financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 down 0.3 percent
ahead of the cash market open.
* GLAXOSMITHKLINE: British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc
GSK.L said on Thursday its long-lasting two-drug regimen to
treat HIV met the main goal of a late-stage study.
* LAURA ASHLEY: Clothing and furnishing retailer Laura
Ashley ALY.L reported an annual pretax loss on Thursday, in
what the company said was a difficult period for the group and
retail sector. * ANTOFAGASTA: Chilean miner Antofagasta Plc ANTO.L on
Thursday reported a 44% jump in first-half profit, benefiting
from higher copper sales, by-product revenue and lower cost of
production. * PREMIER OIL: British energy company Premier Oil PMO.L on
Thursday posted a 23.5% rise in its first-half profit after tax,
boosted by record output, and reiterated its targets for the
year. * PLAYTECH PLC: Playtech Plc PTEC.L lowered its full-year
revenue forecast for Asia on Thursday, as it struggles with
rising competition in China and regulatory crackdown in
Malaysia. * RANK GROUP: Casino and gaming operator Rank Group Plc
RNK.L on Thursday reported a 22% slump in annual operating
profit, hit by a drop in sales and traffic at its casinos and
bingo halls earlier in the year. * BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO: Four dominant e-cigarette makers
including a unit of British American Tobacco BATS.L face a
probe into the health impacts of their products, as the U.S.
House Energy and Commerce Committee asked on Wednesday about the
firms' research and marketing practices. * RYANAIR: Ryanair RYA.I can still avoid a planned strike
by British pilots this week if it agrees to a new framework for
talks, the chief of UK pilot union BALPA said on Wednesday.
* Britain and South Korea will sign a continuity Free Trade
Agreement on Thursday to allow businesses to keep trading freely
after Brexit at the end of October, the British government said.
* Major British employers gave average pay rises of 2.6% to
staff in the three months to July, the highest pace of increase
in more than 10 years, data from industry consultants XpertHR
showed on Thursday. * HSBC: HSBC Holdings Plc HSBA.L is considering a bid for
Asian operations being sold by Aviva Plc AV.L , according to a
Bloomberg report. https://bloom.bg/33Z5IZk * EX-DIVS: Berkeley Group BKGH.L , Carnival (NYSE:CCL) CCL.L , Croda
International CRDA.L , Imperial Brands IMB.L , London Stock
Exchange LSE.L , Prudential PRU.L , Reckitt Benckiser RB.L
and Schroders Plc SDR.L will trade without entitlement to its
latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 5.7 points off the
FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations. L/XD
* London's FTSE 100 rose 1.1% on Wednesday as oil majors
tracked gains in crude prices and exporters benefitted from a
weaker pound, while markets waited for minutes of the U.S.
Federal Reserve's July meeting for signs of further policy
easing. * GOLD: Gold prices were unchanged on Thursday, lingering
above the key $1,500 level, as investors awaited the Federal
Reserve chair's speech at a global central bankers' conclave for
clues on future U.S. interest rate cuts. * OIL: Oil prices slipped on Thursday, paring earlier gains,
weighed down by lingering worries about the global economy and
bigger-than-expected builds in oil product inventories in the
United States, the world's biggest oil consumer. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please
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