(Adds company news items, updates futures)
Oct 18 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening up 18 to 28 points, or as much as 0.4 percent higher on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 up 0.5 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* The UK blue chip index closed down 0.9 percent on Monday at 6,947.55, led lower by publisher Pearson PSON.L after it said market conditions continued to be challenging. BHP: Miner BHP Billiton's BHP.AX BLT.L chief executive, Andrew Mackenzie, said what Britain needs is a "hard-headed Brexit", which would maintain trade relations with the European Union and place the focus on minimising bureaucracy as much as on keeping tariffs low. BELLWAY: British housebuilder Bellway BWY.L posted better-than-expected full-year profit on Tuesday and said that demand for new homes has remained resilient since Britons voted to leave the European Union. ASOS: ASOS ASOS.L , the British online fashion retailer, on Tuesday reported a 37 percent rise in annual profit after strong growth across its UK, U.S. and European markets, and said it was confident on its new financial year. BURBERRY: British luxury fashion label Burberry BRBY.L reported a better-than-expected 2 percent rise in retail sales in its second quarter after tourists in London took advantage of the weaker pound to buy its luxury goods. RYANAIR: Ryanair RYA.I cut its profit forecast for the year to March by 5 percent on Tuesday due to the fall in the value of sterling and said average fares would fall by up to 15 percent during the winter. WILLIAM HILL: Canadian online gambling company Amaya Inc AYA.TO , AYA.O said on Tuesday it had ended merger talks with British bookmaker William Hill WMH.L after concluding that it could best deliver shareholder value by remaining an independent company. EVRAZ: Russia's Evraz EVRE.L , one of the country's largest steelmakers, said on Tuesday its third-quarter crude steel output increased 6 percent quarter-on-quarter to 3.4 million tonnes following the completion of blast furnace repairs. LADBROKES: British bookmaker Ladbrokes LAD.L reported a 12.1 percent rise in third-quarter net revenue on Tuesday, helped by a bookmaker-friendly and busy summer of sport. HAYS: International recruitment firm Hays HAYS.L said hiring in London fell sharply as property and construction clients were reluctant to take on new staff after Britain's vote to leave the European Union. CONNECT GROUP: British newspaper distributor and parcel delivery company Connect Group Plc CNCTC.L reported a 7.4 percent rise in its full-year adjusted pretax profit, helped by higher sales in its parcel delivery unit. RBS: Royal Bank of Scotland RBS.L said on Monday Russian broadcaster RT's bank accounts in Britain remained open and were still operative, responding to a complaint by RT that it had been told that the accounts were to be closed. STANDARD LIFE: Britain's financial watchdog has asked Standard Life Plc SL.L to review whether it gave customers in poor health enough information when it sold them pension products, the insurer said on Monday. PHOENIX: Phoenix Group Holdings PHNX.L , Britain's largest owner of life assurance funds closed to new customers, said UK's financial watchdog approved its deal to buy French insurer AXA's AXAF.PA UK investment and pensions business. UK PROPERTY: UK commercial property values slipped in September but at a slower pace than in July and August, a closely-watched index showed, suggesting concerns about the impact of Britain's vote to leave the European Union are easing. UK FASHION MARKET: Britain's fashion market has suffered its steepest decline in sales since 2009 as consumers increasingly spend their money elsewhere, according to industry data published on Monday. UK ENERGY: Britain's renewable electricity subsidies are set to cost 8.7 billion pounds ($10.8 billion) a year by 2020/2021, pushing up household energy bills, the National Audit Office said on Tuesday. HEATHROW EXPANSION: British Prime Minister Theresa May is leaning toward approving a plan to build a new runway at London's Heathrow airport, the Financial Times reported on Monday citing Whitehall officials. UK TRADE: Britain and New Zealand agreed on Monday to set up regular trade policy talks to help push for greater global trade liberalisation and reform as Britain leaves the European Union, trade minister Liam Fox said. OIL: Oil prices rose early on Tuesday as some analysts said markets might not be quite as oversupplied as suggested by many, with global inventories rising less than expected ahead of the high-demand winter heating season in the northern hemisphere. METALS: London copper edged higher on Tuesday as the dollar eased from seven-month highs, while nickel found some support from data that showed a drop in mine supply. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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