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Dec 6 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening between 4 and 14 points lower on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 down 0.1 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* The UK blue chip index closed up 0.2 percent on Monday at 6,746.83 points, with basic resources stocks leading the market higher as prices of industrial metals such as copper rose. THOMAS COOK: British tourism company Thomas Cook (NS:THOM) TCG.L said it would pay 55.8 million pounds ($71 million)to take full control of a jointly owned network of 764 travel shops in Britain which it had run with partner The Co-operative Group. DRAX GROUP: British company Drax Group Plc DRX.L said it has proposed to acquire privately held Opus Energy Group Ltd for 340 million pounds ($433.43 million) in a deal that would help it expand by supplying power to small-and-medium enterprises. WOLSELEY: Heating and plumbing supplier Wolseley Plc WOS.L forecast annual profit in line with market expectations, even as strong U.S. growth offset challenging conditions in its UK and European arm to help it report higher first-quarter profit. ASHTEAD: Industrial equipment hire group Ashtead Group Plc AHT.L hiked its annual results forecast on Tuesday, as both its divisions performed at the upper end of expectations and a weaker pound boosted earnings. ARROW GLOBAL: Debt purchaser and manager Arrow Global Group Plc ARWA.L said it would enter the Italian market by buying financial services business Zenith Service SpA for an enterprise value of 17 million euros ($18.28 million). BRITAIN/OIL: Britain's Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) said on Tuesday that companies can apply for new licences to drill for offshore oil and gas in a supplementary licensing round. NORTHGATE: Northgate Plc NTG.L , a commercial vehicle hire company, said on Tuesday its Chief Executive Bob Contreras would step down after more than six years at the helm, even as it cautioned that annual results would be more weighted towards the second half. BARCLAYS: British bank Barclays Plc BARC.L has joined the list of top banks to exit energy trading, an exodus that analysts say raises concern among oil producers that falling liquidity means they cannot use derivatives for their basic function: to hedge risk by locking in future prices. BP: Mexico awarded a consortium of Statoil STL.OL , BP BP.L and Total TOTF.PA the third block tendered in the Gulf of Mexico's Salina Basin in a historic deep water oil and gas auction on Monday. OIL: Oil prices eased early in Asia as crude output rises in virtually every major export region despite plans by OPEC and Russia to cut production, triggering fears that a fuel glut that has dogged markets for over two years might last well into 2017. BREXIT: Britain's financial services sector contributed a record 71.4 billion pounds ($90.99 billion) in taxes last year, highlighting the potentially big impact of the country's vote to leave the European Union, according to the City of London Corporation. fine foods from Spain has been a good trade for London firm Brindisa, but like many food and wine businesses that rely on the free movement of goods and workers within the European Union, it has been badly hit by Britain's vote to leave. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt sought on Tuesday to assuage concerns in China about market access in the wake of the Brexit vote, pointing to Hong Kong's success as a trading hub as proof of Britain's commitment to keeping its doors open to global business. UK RETAIL: Growth in British retail sales slowed in November after a bumper October as shoppers waited for big discounts around 'Black Friday' at the end of the month, industry figures showed on Tuesday. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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