(Adds futures, company news items)
Feb 22 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening up 8 points on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 up about 0.1 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* The blue-chip FTSE index .FTSE closed down 0.3 percent at 7,274.83 points on Tuesday, dragged down by banking stocks as a week of full-year earnings releases for major listed banks began with a profit slump for HSBC. ANGLO AMERICAN: Anglo American AAL.L said on Tuesday it will walk away from its El Soldado copper mine in Chile if it cannot agree with local regulators on a permit for a redesign of the operation. LSE: Deutsche Boerse AG DB1Gn.DE and the London Stock Exchange Group Plc LSE.L are planning further concessions to satisfy the European Commission's concerns about their planned merger, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. LLOYDS BANKING GROUP: Lloyds Banking Group LLOY.L reported its highest full-year profit in a decade on Wednesday, as the taxpayer-backed bank nears a complete recovery from its crisis-era past. BARRATT: Britain's biggest housebuilder Barratt BDEV.L posted a 9 percent rise in first-half pretax profit but built fewer homes, in a move which could harm government efforts to boost supply to tackle a growing housing crisis. UK AGRICULTURE: British farmers are holding back on big investments as they brace for the UK's exit from the European Union, their largest market and a vital source of subsidies. OIL: Oil prices held near multi-week highs on Wednesday after OPEC signalled optimism over its deal with other producers to curb output to clear a glut that has weighed on markets since 2014. COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was 0.4 percent lower at $6,038 a tonne by 0410 GMT after dropping 0.2 percent the previous session. GOLD: Gold held firm on Wednesday after falling as much as 1 percent the session before, with investors waiting for minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting for clues on the timing of interest rate hikes. nL4N1G71LG]
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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