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Jan 25 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 13 to 19 points higher, or up as much as 0.3 percent on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 up 0.5 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* The UK blue chip index , which touched a three-week low the previous day, had a volatile session after the UK Supreme Court ruled that Prime Minister Theresa May must gain parliament's approval before she begins Britain's formal exit from the European Union. The top share index ended little changed on Tuesday. ANTOFAGASTA: Chilean mining firm Antofagasta ANTO.L stuck by its 2017 copper production target on Wednesday, after higher output at its Centinela mine and additional copper from two new operations drove up its 2016 production. WH SMITH: British books, newspaper and stationery retailer WH Smith Plc SMWH.L said it expects full-year profit growth to be slightly ahead of expectations as it posted strong sales in its travel business over the Christmas period. RESTAURANT GROUP: Britain's Restaurant Group RTN.L , the owner of the Frankie & Benny's chain, said it expects rising costs in 2017 due to a hike in Britain's minimum wage as it reported a 3.9 percent fall in like-for-like sales for the 53 weeks ended Jan. 1. BHP BILLITON: BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) BHP.AX was on track to meet its iron ore production guidance for fiscal 2017 after reporting a strong second quarter for its most profitable business on Wednesday. GLENCORE: Swiss commodities trader Glencore Plc GLEN.L is considering additional sugar and ethanol mills takeovers in Brazil, where it recently bought a second plant, to ramp up operations in the world's No. 1 sugar producer, three people familiar with the plan said on Tuesday. TESCO: Britain's biggest retailer Tesco PLC TSCO.L is facing a new claim for damages from an investor about its 2014 profit overstatement, the company said on Tuesday. RIO TINTO: Chinese steel mills have balked at global miner Rio Tinto 's RIO.AX RIO.L plan to charge a premium in long-term contracts for its highest grade of iron ore, rekindling the conflicts that caused the collapse of an annual pricing system seven years ago. SHELL: Oil companies Shell RDSa.L and Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) PSX.N bought more than 6 million barrels of oil last week from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, according to a Department of Energy document released on Tuesday. BOE/FLASH CRASH: The Bank of England's executive markets director Chris Salmon said on Tuesday he expected further "flash crashes" in core global financial markets similar to the one which caused the British pound to slump in October. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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