Feb 1 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 23 points higher at 7,556.3 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers.
* GKN/MELROSE: Melrose Industries MRON.L is preparing to publish the formal offer document detailing its 7.4 billion-pound hostile bid for British engineer GKN GKN.L on Thursday, according to a source close to the situation. BHP: Global miner BHP BHP.AX BLT.L , trying to speeden the sale of its U.S. shale unit, is open to offering the assets in as many as seven packages, including three in the Permian Basin, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the producer's plans. https://bloom.bg/2E6JlXy
* SHELL: Oil major Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L said its U.S. unit had made one of its biggest oil discoveries in the past decade in the Whale deepwater well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. SHELL: Royal Dutch Shell snapped up nine of 19 Gulf of Mexico oil and gas blocks awarded in a Mexican auction on Wednesday, as the global oil major raised its big bet on Latin America's deep waters. BARCLAYS: Ground services and cargo handling group Swissport, a unit of cash-strapped Chinese conglomerate HNA Group HNAIRC.UL , said it has secured a 325 million euro ($403.68 million) financing commitment from Barclays BARC.L to support its acquisition of Australian ground handler Aerocare. BREXIT: Prime Minister Theresa May has warned that European citizens arriving in Britain after Brexit next year may lose some rights, setting up a clash with the European Union over their treatment during any transition period. UK SMALL MANUFACTURERS: British small manufacturers reported the fastest rise in new orders since 1995 last month and are more optimistic about the year to come, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry showed on Thursday. COPPER: London copper traded flat on Thursday, supported by optimism over the outlook for global manufacturing but pressured by expectations that demand could tail off ahead of the Lunar New Year in mid-February. GOLD: Gold prices inched down early on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged but hinted at hikes later this year. OIL: U.S. oil prices extended modest gains on Thursday as OPEC's strong compliance with a supply reduction pact offset news that U.S. production topped 10 million barrels per day for the first time in nearly half a century. EX-DIVS: No FTSE 100 .FTSE companies will go ex-dividend on Thursday, although several mid-caps will go ex-div, after which investors will no longer qualify for the latest dividend payout. The UK blue chip index closed down 0.7 percent on Wedneday to 7,533.55 points, as shares in outsourcer Capita tanked after a profit warning, further weighing on the monthly performance of the index. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
* UK CORPORATE DIARY: Vodafone Group PLC
Q3 Cranswick PLC
Q3 Unilever PLC
Q4 Rank Group PLC
Half Year 3i Group PLC
Q3 Intermediate Capital Group PLC
Trading Statement RPC Group PLC
Q3 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC ERM.L
Trading Statement Rank Group PLC
Half Year NEX Group Plc
Q3 Royal Dutch Shell
Q4 Glencore Plc
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