(Adds company news items and futures)
Aug 2 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is expected to open 82
points lower at 7,503 on Friday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures
FFIc1 down 1.07% ahead of the cash market open.
* BHP: BHP Group BHP.AX , BHPB.L plans to start production of nickel
sulphate in the second quarter of next year, as it ramps up sales of its nickel
products to the battery industry, asset president Eddie Haegel said on Friday.
* BT: BT BT.L , Britain's biggest broadband provider, said it was ready to
play its part in achieving Prime Minister Boris Johnson's ambition to roll-out
full-fibre across the country as it beat market expectations for first-quarter
trading on Friday. * IAG: British Airways owner IAG ICAG.L posted better than expected profit
for the first half of its key summer period on strong ticket sales and said it
was on course to match last year's profit for the full year. * MAJESTIC WINE: Majestic Wine WINEW.L said on Friday it had agreed to
sell its Majestic retail and commercial businesses to CF Bacchus Holdings Ltd, a
vehicle controlled by funds managed by Fortress Investment Group, for about 100
million pounds ($121.06 million). * PETS AT HOME: British pet supplies retailer Pets at Home Group Plc
PETSP.L said it expects full-year underlying profit to be slightly above
current market expectations, as its retail outlets did more business and
generated more cash. * FERREXPO: Iron ore miner Ferrexpo FXPO.L reported a 59% jump in core
earnings in the first half of 2019, as it benefitted from a global rise in the
price of the iron ore pellets it produces for the steel industry. * GOALS SOCCER: Five-a-side football pitch operator Goals Soccer Centres Plc
GOAL.L said its shares would be de-listed from London's small cap AIM market
next month after it was unable to publish audited financials for 2018 in time,
after it detected improper behaviour in relation to its past accounts.
* U.S.-CHINA: U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to impose a 10% tariff on
$300 billion of Chinese imports from Sept. 1, sharply escalating a bruising
trade war between the world's largest economies and jolting financial markets.
* STERLING: Sterling sank to a 30-month low on Thursday below $1.21, hurt by
a stronger dollar, renewed worries about a no-deal Brexit and reduced Bank of
England forecasts for British economic growth. * OIL: Oil prices rose more than 2% on Friday, rebounding from their biggest
fall in years after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed more tariffs on Chinese
imports, intensifying the trade war between the world's two biggest economies
and crude consumers. * GOLD: Gold prices fell nearly 1% on Friday, as investors locked in profit
after U.S. President Donald Trump's fresh salvo in the year-long trade spat with
China increased demand for the safe-haven metal in the previous session.
* London's FTSE 100 ended flat on Thursday despite a profit miss from Shell
and dampened hopes of big U.S. interest rate cuts, while the mid-cap FTSE 250
index slipped after Brexit worries led the Bank of England to cut its growth
forecasts. * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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