Jan 14 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening down 101-104 points, or 1.6-1.7 percent lower on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on The UK blue chip index closed up just 31.73 points, or 0.5 percent, at 5,960.97 points on Wednesday after better-than-expected trade data from China improved market sentiment, pushing oil and metals prices higher and lifting investors' appetite for shares in mining, oil and gas companies. SHELL: Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L plans to grow its lubricants business in Asia in the next five years, targeting surging vehicle sales and rising population growth, said a senior company official. BP: The families of two BP BP.L employees killed in the 2013 Amenas gas plant attack in Algeria have filed a lawsuit in London's High Court against the company, accusing it of failing to take reasonable steps to protect its workers. AB INBEV/ SABMILLER: Brewing giant AB InBev ABI.BR launched a $46bn bond on Wednesday, the second-largest bond in history, after amassing $110bn in investor orders to help fund its acquisition of rival SABMiller SAB.L . HOME RETAIL/ WESFARMERS: British takeover target Home Retail HOME.L said on Wednesday it was in advanced talks to sell its Homebase home improvement stores to Australia's Wesfarmers WES.AX for 340 million pounds ($490 million) in cash, allowing it to focus on its Argos chain. INTEREST RATE HIKE: The Bank of England looks likely to signal another delay in raising interest rates on Thursday thanks to a renewed oil price slump, sputtering wage growth and the approach of an unsettling vote on Britain's European Union membership. MOTOR INSURANCE: Comprehensive car insurance premiums in Britain rose 13.2 percent in 2015, the biggest annual rise since 2011, according to Confused.com's car price insurance index. ADVERTISING SPEND: The number of British companies that raised their advertising budgets in the fourth quarter of 2015 slowed to its lowest level in nearly three years as concerns over the economy grew, according to an industry survey. SMALL OIL PRODUCERS: Mid-sized oil producing companies are proving more resilient against weak oil prices than expected as they are able to slash more costs, allowing them to press ahead with projects that are set to add even more barrels to a global supply glut. EX-DIVS: Ashtead AHT.L and Next NXT.L will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 0.42 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations ID:nL8N14V2NJ
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