(Adds company news items, futures)
March 17 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 futures FFIc1 were down 0.1 percent ahead of the cash market open on Friday.
* The UK blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index closed 0.6 percent higher at 7,415.95 points on Thursday, helped by a surge in commodities-related stocks, but pared some gains after a Bank of England policymaker voted for a rate hike. BERKELEY: London-focussed housebuilder Berkeley BKGH.L said it expected full-year profits to be at the top end of market expectations despite demand falling in the capital due to Brexit and an increase in property taxes on the priciest homes. PANMURE GORDON: Former Barclays BARC.L chief executive Bob Diamond's private equity firm and an investment vehicle of the Qatari royal family said on Friday that they have agreed to buy British stock broker Panmure Gordon PMR.L . BP: BP Plc BP.L on Friday said it had sold around half its roughly 20-percent stake in New Zealand Refining Company Limited NZR.NZ for NZ$80.4 million ($56.2 million) as part of a global portfolio review. BP: UK petrochemicals group Ineos is in talks with BP to buy the Forties Pipeline System, located in the North Sea, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. BHP BILLITON: The striking union at BHP Billiton's BLT.L Escondida mine in Chile, the world's biggest copper mine, said on Thursday that it would return to the negotiating table if the company gave a written guarantee that it would only discuss the union's three key demands. ANGLO AMERICAN: Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal said he wants to buy a 2 billion pound ($2.45 billion) stake in Anglo American AAL.L , a major vote of confidence in the global miner's recovery. BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO: British American Tobacco (BAT) BATS.L said demand for its "glo" tobacco heating device overwhelmed supply in its Japan test marketing, as global cigarette giants shift focus to the new product category amid declining smoking population. BRITAIN BOND: British 10-year government bond yields hit a one-month high on Thursday after a Bank of England policymaker unexpectedly voted to raise interest rates, and there were signs that some other officials could be tempted to follow suit soon. BREXIT: Recent weakness in British pay growth likely reflects temporary caution about Brexit among employers, Bank of England rate-setter Kristin Forbes said in a newspaper opinion piece published in the Daily Telegraph on Thursday. OIL: Oil prices were little changed in early Asian trade on Friday as the market looked for clues on how effectively OPEC production cuts are working to absorb a global supply overhang. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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