Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 97 points lower at 6,232 on
Thursday, according to financial bookmakers.
* Ocado OCDO.L , the British online supermarket and technology group, plans
to raise 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion), giving it more firepower to capitalise
on the rapid growth of the online grocery market triggered by the coronavirus
crisis. * CMA: Britain's competition regulator has given itself two more months to
make a final ruling on Amazon's AMZN.O purchase of a minority stake in online
delivery group Deliveroo so it can take full account of representations from all
interested parties. * GOLD: Gold eased on Thursday as investors booked profits after prices rose
to a more than a one-week high on bleak economic projections from the U.S.
Federal Reserve. * OIL: Oil prices fell in early trade on Thursday on worries about slow
demand growth with coronavirus cases rising, U.S. crude stockpiles hitting an
all-time high and the U.S. Federal Reserve projecting recovery from the pandemic
would take years. * EX-DIVS: Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust SMT.L will trade without
entitlement to its latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 0.11 points off
the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations. * The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed 0.1% lower on Wednesday, as
investors turned cautious ahead of a policy decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve
later in the day. UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Johnson Matthey Plc JMAT.L FY earnings release
CMC Markets Plc CMCX.L FY earnings release
Talktalk Telecom Group TALK.L FY earnings release
Babcock International Group Plc BAB.L FY earnings release
Naked Wines Plc WINEW.L FY earnings release
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