(Adds company news items, futures)
Oct 24 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 69 points higher on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures up 0.4 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* BARCLAYS: Barclays BARC.L reported a profit before tax of 3.1 billion pounds ($4.02 billion) for the third quarter, as its under-pressure investment banking division booked increased trading revenues despite difficult market conditions. METRO BANK: Britain's Metro Bank Plc MTRO.L reported a doubling of underlying pretax profit in the third quarter thanks to a strong loan book, while issuing a warning about the continuing competitive nature of the mortgage market. ANTOFAGASTA: Chilean copper producer Antofagasta ANTO.L brought down the top end of its guidance range for full year copper production on Wednesday, as ongoing fears about global trade disruptions continue to impact the market. QUILTER: British wealth manager Quilter QLT.L on Wednesday posted a third quarter net client cash flow of 1.1 billion pounds ($1.43 billion), excluding Quilter Life Assurance, compared with 1.9 billion in the third quarter of 2017. FRESNILLO: Precious metals miner Fresnillo Plc FRES.L has cut its guidance for silver production this year for a second time, after posting lower-than-expected production for the metal in the third quarter, primarily due to lower than expected ore grades at two of its mines. BT: CityFibre, a British broadband operator backed by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) GS.N and is taking on national provider BT BT.L , said it would spend 2.5 billion pounds ($3.25 billion) on rolling out fibre networks in 37 towns and cities, offering ultra-fast connections to as many as 5 million homes. OIL: Oil prices on Wednesday clawed back some of their hefty losses from the day before as the looming U.S. sanctions against Iran came back into focus. GOLD: Gold prices nudged higher on Wednesday after hitting their highest in over three months in the previous session as global political and economic uncertainties bolstered safe-haven demand for the metal. The UK blue chip index closed 1.24 percent lower at 6,955.21 on Tuesday, sinking to their lowest since March as a broad sell-off hit stocks across Europe, caused by a toxic mix of weak results, jitters over geopolitical tensions, Brexit, Italy's budget and cooling markets overnight. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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