(Adds company news items and futures)
July 24 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 25 points higher at 7,681 on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 up 0.38 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* BT GROUP: Britain's BT Group BT.L said on Tuesday it would encourage telecom operators to move residential and business customers onto faster broadband by offering them long-term discounts on its network. HAMMERSON: British shopping centres group Hammerson HMSO.L said on Tuesday that it is planning 1.1 billion pounds ($1.4 billion) of disposals by the end of 2019 as part of an overhaul of its business following its failed takeover of rival Intu Properties INTUP.L earlier this year. ASTRAZENECA: AstraZeneca AZN.L is selling the European commercial rights to its ageing Atacand high blood pressure and heart failure treatment to Cheplapharm Arzneimittel for $210 million, in the drugmaker's latest divestment of older medicines. SUPERDRY: The co-founder of British fashion retailer Superdry SDRY.L , has sold a 6.7 percent stake in the company, reducing his holding to 18.5 percent. DRAX: British power producer Drax Group Plc DRX.L reported a 16 percent fall in first-half earnings on Tuesday as outages curbed electricity generation at its power plants. BRITVIC: British soft drinks company Britvic Plc BVIC.L said its third-quarter revenue rose 3.4 percent, helped by strong sales of its sugar-free and non-carbonated drinks. IG GROUP: IG Group IGG.L expects a fall in revenue in the next financial year, hurt by regulatory changes in Britain and the European Union, and a return to growth after 2019, the British online financial trading company said on Tuesday. PZ CUSSONS: Soaps and cosmetics maker PZ Cussons Plc's PZC.L full-year pretax profit dropped 23 percent, well below its estimates, as sales fell in Nigeria, its largest market. FEVERTREE DRINKS: Fevertree Drinks Plc FEVR.L expects full-year results to be "comfortably ahead" of its expectations, as the premium drinks maker reported a 35 percent jump in first-half core earnings on the back of strong sales in the UK. BHP: The management at Chile's Escondida copper mine, the world's largest, said on Monday it would deliver its final labor contract offer to the labor union on Tuesday amid tense contract negotiations ahead of a possible strike. BRITAIN-NORTHSEA: The British infrastructure arm of Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund said on Monday it had agreed to buy oil and gas pipeline firm North Sea Midstream Partners (NSMP) from ArcLight Capital, a private equity firm. BRITAIN-M&A: Britain is planning to create new powers to block or unwind foreign takeovers amid concerns that investment in certain sectors of the economy such as defence and technology could compromise national security. GOLD: Gold prices edged down on Tuesday on a firmer dollar and a rise in U.S. Treasury yields and as investors' reaction to the dispute between the United States and Iran remained muted. OIL: Oil prices extended declines into a second session on Tuesday as attention shifted to the risk of oversupply, with market participants shrugging off escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. The UK blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index was down 0.3 percent at 7,655.79 points at the close on Monday, as trade tensions weighed on cyclical stocks while results from Ryanair RYA.I weighed on the broader sector. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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