(Adds futures, company news items)
June 3 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 31
points lower at 7,131 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures
.FFIc1 down 0.3% ahead of the cash market open.
* KIER: British construction company Kier Group Plc KIE.L said on Monday
it expected 2019 underlying operating profit to be about 25 million pounds
($31.6 million) lower than its prior expectations. * KCOM: Telecom network and cloud-based service provider KCOM Plc KCOM.L
has pulled its recommendation of a bid by British pension fund-backed Humber
Bidco in favour of a higher offer backed by investment firm Macquarie's European
Infrastructure Fund, KCOM said on Monday. * DIGNITY: Britain is to crack down on high-pressure and misleading tactics
in the sale of funeral plans, City minister John Glen said on Saturday. Shares
in Dignity Plc DTY.L , Britain's second-largest undertaker, which operates more
than 700 funeral locations across the UK, fell sharply in November when the
government first announced a formal investigation. * ASTRAZENECA: AstraZeneca AZN.L and Merck & Co's MRK.N Lynparza helped
patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who carry BRCA gene mutations go nearly
twice as long without their disease worsening than those who received a placebo,
according to data from a late-stage clinical trial presented on Sunday.
* The UK blue chip index closed almost 1% lower on Friday, after U.S.
President Donald Trump's threat of tariffs on Mexico and disappointing
manufacturing data from China stoked global downturn fears. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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