(Adds futures, news items)
Sept 3 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 18
points higher at 5,959 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers, with
futures FFIc1 seen up 0.4% ahead of cash market open.
* CMC: Online trading platform CMC Markets CMCX.L said it expects 2021
earnings to surpass the higher end of market consensus, while pointing to a rise
in costs as it brought on more clients for its services. * HUT GROUP: E-commerce firm The Hut Group confirmed its intention to float
on the London Stock Exchange, in potentially the biggest listing of a British
company since 2013 and the first major London listing since the COVID-19 crisis.
* MELROSE: Turnaround specialist Melrose Industries Plc MRON.L said
adjusted operating profit plunged 90% to 56 million pounds ($74.48 million) in
the first half, hurt by a coronavirus-driven downturn in the aerospace and
automotive sectors. * SSE: British renewable power generator and network operator SSE Plc
SSE.L has been fined 2.1 million pounds ($2.8 million) for failing to publish
information on future generation capacity, Britain's energy regulator said.
* GSK/SANOFI: French drugmaker Sanofi SASY.PA and its British peer GSK
GSK.L have started a clinical trial for a protein-based COVID-19 vaccine
candidate, as pharmaceutical companies race to develop treatments against the
COVID-19 pandemic. * METALS: London copper prices rose as data from China showed a steady
economic recovery in the world's biggest copper consumer after the hit from the
COVID-19 pandemic. MET/L
* GOLD: Gold recouped some of the previous session's hefty losses as the
dollar steadied, although gains were capped by an uptick in risk appetite on
recent better-than-expected economic data. GOL/
* OIL: Oil prices edged up, but held near multi-week lows hit overnight
after U.S. data showed gasoline demand fell and recovery from the COVID-19
pandemic was lagging. O/R
* The UK blue-chip index .FTSE rose for the first time in four sessions on
Wednesday as a surge in house prices to record highs powered stocks of
homebuilders, with Barratt jumping to the top of the FTSE 100. .L
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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