(Adds company news items, futures)
June 8 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 futures FFIc1 0.17 percent higher ahead of the cash market open.
* ELECTIONS: Prime Minister Theresa May is on course to increase her majority in parliament in Britain's election on Thursday, opinion polls showed on Wednesday, suggesting her gamble to call the vote to bolster her position in Brexit negotiations will pay off. CMC (NS:CMC): British financial spreadbetting firm CMC Markets Plc CMCX.L reported a fall in full-year pretax profit as low levels of volatility resulted in fewer trading opportunities for its clients. SHELL: Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L said on Wednesday its business is not experiencing any operational disruptions in Qatar in the wake of a decision by several Gulf countries to sever ties. WPP: WPP WPP.L , the world's largest advertising group, reported a slight increase in like-for-like net sales growth in the first four months of 2017, saying there was growth in all regions and businesses except North America and data investment management. BOOHOO: Online fashion retailer Boohoo .com Plc BOOH.L on Wednesday nudged its full-year sales forecast upwards after a doubling in first-quarter sales on the back of strong demand across all its businesses. BERENDSEN: French laundry services group Elis SA ELIS.PA sweetened its offer to buy UK peer Berendsen Plc BRSN.L on Wednesday, and the companies said they had agreed in principle on key terms. BHP/CHILE: BHP Billiton's BLT.L BHP.AX Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine, said it was snowing and all operations had been suspended after heavy rains lashed the high altitude desert region of Antofagasta overnight and into Wednesday. Antofagasta ANTO.L said Centinela and Zaldivar had suffered intermittent interruptions. BT GROUP: BT Group BT.L has picked a new auditor to replace PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), months after the emergence of a 530 million pound accounting crisis in its Global Services division, Sky News reported. MINING: Large global mining companies, including Glencore GLEN.L , Anglo American Plc AAL.L and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) RIO.AX , have cut back on investments despite a turnaround in profitability and a spike in commodity prices, a PricewaterhouseCooper's (PwC) report revealed on Wednesday. EX-DIVS: Associated British Foods ABF.L , Johnson Matthey JMAT.L , Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust SMT.L , Vodafone Group VOD.L , WPP Plc WPP.L will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 11.7 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations The UK blue chip index closed 0.6 points lower at 7478.6 on Wednesday, a day before Britons were set to begin voting in parliamentary elections that will shape talks for the country's exit from the European Union.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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