Jan 28 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index .FTSE is seen opening lower by 36-40 points, or 0.6-0.7 percent, according to financial bookmakers. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on The UK blue-chip index closed up 1.3 percent at 5,990.37 on Wednesday, helped by a surge in software firm Sage Group Plc SGE.L and a rebound in mining and energy stocks as oil prices rose. BHP BILLITON: Brazilian miner Samarco Mineracao SA SAMNE.UL , in which BHP Billiton BLT.L owns a 50 percent stake, said on Wednesday it evacuated some workers after rain caused a mudslide at the site where an iron ore tailings damn burst in November. BRITISH CONSTRUCTION: The number of new homes registered for construction by British builders in 2015 rose to its highest since the financial crisis, despite a slowdown in the second half of the year, an industry group said on Thursday. BRITISH POWER: A British auction to secure 802.710 megawatts of backup electricity capacity for the 2016/17 winter period cleared at 27.50 pounds per kilowatt per year on Wednesday, the delivery body said in preliminary results. OIL PRICES: Crude oil futures fell around 1 percent in Asian trading on Thursday, eroding gains of nearly 3 percent made in the previous session after Russia held out the possibility of cooperating with OPEC to control global oversupply. EX-DIVS: No FTSE 100 company will go ex-dividend on Thursday. UK CORPORATE DIARY:
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