May 28 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen
opening 42 points higher on Thursday, according to financial
bookmakers.
* ASTRAZENECA: AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L is testing one of its
diabetes drugs as a treatment for COVID-19. * IWG: IWG Plc IWG.L intends to raise about 315 million
pounds by issuing new shares, the British office space provider
said on Wednesday. * RIO TINTO: Rio Tinto Plc RIO.AX RIO.L said on
Wednesday it has developed a process to extract the rare earth
scandium from its titanium dioxide production process.
* ECONOMY: Britain's economy is at risk of taking longer to
recover from the impact of the coronavirus than in the main
scenario published by the Bank of England earlier this month,
Governor Andrew Bailey said on Wednesday. * HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE: An international hydroxychloroquine
trial led by the University of Oxford has been paused, Britain's
pharmaceutical regulator said on Wednesday. * JOBS: British employers turned a bit less pessimistic
about hiring and investment this month as the government moved
to relax its coronavirus lockdown of much of the economy,
according to a survey published by a recruiting industry body.
* GOLD: Gold edged up after hitting a two-week low in the
previous session as the rift between Washington and Beijing over
Hong Kong escalated. * METALS: Copper prices in London rose on hopes of
increasing demand for the red metal as more countries around the
world restarted their economies following months-long lockdowns.
* London-listed stocks notched up their strongest close
since early March on Wednesday amid sustained hopes of an
economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. UK CORPORATE DIARY:
PayPoint PAYP.L FY Earnings
Daily Mail and General Trust DMGOa.L HY Earnings
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