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Feb 16 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening down 7 points to 7295 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures down 0.1 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.5 percent higher at 7302.41 after setting its highest level since mid-January on Wednesday as investors bet on financial stocks following U.S. Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen's hawkish tone suggested U.S. interest rates would rise. A rally in mining shares also lent some support to the broader stock market. DRAX: British power producer Drax DRX.L reported a 17 percent fall in core annual earnings to 140 million pounds ($175 million), slightly below analysts' estimates, citing weak power prices and the loss of revenue from a green energy scheme. COCA-COLA HBC: Soft drinks bottler Coca-Cola HBC CCH.L reported higher full-year profit on Thursday, helped by price increases and cost cuts, though revenue was pulled lower by currency fluctuations and weakness in Russia. WIZZ AIR: Budget airline Wizz Air WIZZ.L is to open a new British base at London Luton, the airline said on Thursday, with three new routes flying from June. LAURA ASHLEY: British fashion and homeware retailer Laura Ashley Holdings Plc ALY.L said pretax net profit for the year ending in June 2017 would fall below market expectations due to tough trading conditions. LANCASHIRE: Insurer Lancashire Holdings LRE.L forecast another challenging year ahead after posting a 12-percent fall in full-year profit, hurt by continuing pricing pressure and a slight fall in gross written premiums in its LLoyd's and marine businesses. STEEL: Tata Steel 's TISC.NS British workers voted on Wednesday to accept pension benefit cuts in return for safeguards on jobs and investment, although the Indian company's plan to spin off its entire UK pension scheme still faces regulatory hurdles. OIL: Oil held steady on Thursday, supported by ongoing supply cuts led by producer group OPEC, while rising fuel inventories and crude production in the United States dragged on prices. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading at $55.74 per barrel at 0550 GMT, down just 1 cent from their last close. STERLING: Sterling touched one-week lows against a broadly stronger dollar on Wednesday after U.S. consumer prices had their biggest jump in nearly four years and retail numbers beat expectations. COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 edged up by 0.3 percent to $6,085 a tonne by 0128 GMT, extending small 0.7 percent gains from the previous session. Prices hit the highest since May 2015 at $6,204 a tonne on Monday. EX-DIVS: AstraZeneca AZN.L , BP BP.L , Imperial Brands IMB.L , Royal Dutch Shell A RDSa.L and Royal Dutch Shell B RDSb.L will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 27.64 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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