(Adds company news items and futures)
March 26 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening down
126 points on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers with futures down 2.4%
ahead of cash markets open.
* Intu properties: UK-based mall operator Intu is asking its banks to waive
existing debt covenants and will seek support from the government's coronavirus
emergency schemes, the company said on Thursday, as it reported a collapse in
rent payments by tenants. * DYSON: Vacuum cleaner company Dyson said on Wednesday it had received an
order for 10,000 ventilators and was working with regulators to get the design
approved, according to an internal email seen by Reuters. * BABCOCK: British engineer Babcock International BAB.L said on Wednesday
it had joined forces with a leading medical equipment company to design and
supply thousands of critical care ventilators to Britain's publicly funded
health service. * SAINSBURY'S: British supermarket group Sainsbury 's SBRY.L said on
Wednesday it will temporarily close a small number of convenience stores at
locations experiencing extremely low shopper numbers during the coronavirus
outbreak, such as at railway stations. * LONDON ZOO: The world's oldest zoo is shut to the public for the first
time since World War Two as London locks down because of the coronavirus
pandemic, but for the roughly 18,000 animals housed there, life must go on.
* BOE: The Bank of England and Britain's finance ministry will resume their
coordinated drive on Thursday to prevent the coronavirus-related shutdown of
swathes of the economy from triggering a long and deep recession. * OIL: Oil prices slipped on Thursday following three days of gains, with
the prospect of rapidly dwindling demand due to coronavirus travel bans and
lockdowns offsetting hopes a U.S. $2 trillion emergency stimulus will shore up
economic activity. * GOLD: Gold prices fell on Thursday as expectations of a surge in U.S.
jobless claims due to the coronavirus outbreak eclipsed a massive U.S. stimulus
package and kept alive a rush for cash among investors. * EX-DIVS: British American Tobacco BATS.L , British Land Company BLND.L ,
Ferguson FERG.L , Prudential PRU.L , Pearson PSON.L , Royal Bank of Scotland
RBS.L , Schroders SDR.L will trade without entitlement to its latest dividend
pay-out on Thursday, trimming 9.8 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters
calculations. * The UK blue-chip index .FTSE closed up 4.5% on Wednesday. London shares
extended gains for a second session on Wednesday as an imminent U.S. stimulus
package and moves by companies to deal with the financial effects of the
coronavirus crisis offset the impact on markets of a surge in cases
domestically. The Financial Conduct Authority had said on March 21 that
Britain's listed companies should not publish preliminary financial statements
for at least two weeks to better assess how the coronavirus epidemic is
affecting their business. * UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Bigblu BBB.L Full Year 2019 Bigblu
Broadband PLC Broadband PLC Earnings Release
Impact IHR.L Full Year 2019 Impact
Healthcare Healthcare REIT PLC Earnings
REIT PLC Release
Arbuthnot ARBB.L Full Year 2019 Arbuthnot
Banking Group Banking Group PLC Earnings
PLC Release
IGas Energy IGAS.L Full Year 2019 IGas Energy PLC
PLC Earnings Release
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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