March 4 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 80 points lower at 6,595 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers.
* CAR SALES: British new car registrations fell by roughly 36% year-on-year in February, according to preliminary data from an industry body, as lockdown measures forced showrooms to close their doors to the public. ASTRAZENECA: The Czech Republic has declined an offer to buy AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) Plc's AZN.L coronavirus vaccines from an intermediary in the United Arab Emirates, Czech officials said on Wednesday. BT: BT BT.L , Britain's biggest broadband and mobile provider, said the "super deduction" tax break for investment announced by the government on Wednesday would significantly cut its tax bill for several years. RIO: A U.S. judge on Wednesday quashed a bid to widen the scope of a civil lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that accused miner Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) RIO.AX of fraud at its Mozambican coal business, a court filing showed. SAINSBURY'S: British supermarket group Sainsbury 's SBRY.L plans to cut an additional 500 jobs and reduce its office space as it simplifies administrative functions for the post-pandemic era, it said on Wednesday. BOE: Bank of England policymaker Silvana Tenreyro said on Wednesday there was no good evidence that cutting interest rates below zero would, past a certain point, weaken Britain's economy rather than boost it. GOLD: Gold prices hovered near a nine-month low hit in the previous session, as rising U.S. Treasury yields kept the non-yielding bullion under pressure. OIL: Oil prices rose for a second straight session, as the possibility that OPEC+ producers might decide against increasing output at a key meeting later in the day lent support, alongside a drop in U.S. fuel inventories. British shares rose on Wednesday, buoyed by gains in financial, leisure and homebuilding stocks as investors cheered finance minister Rishi Sunak's budget plan to steer the economy out of a coronavirus-inflicted shock. UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Entain
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MGTT.L
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