(Adds futures, company news items)
Oct 7 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening up at between 7,063-7,068 points, or 0.9-1.0 percent higher, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 up 0.28 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* The UK blue chip index closed down 0.5 percent at 6,999.96 points - still near its record intraday high of 7,122.74 points reached in April 2015 with budget airline easyJet EZJ.L sliding lower after issuing a profit warning. BHP BILLITON: Power is unlikely to be restored to the area near BHP Billiton's BHP.AX BLT.L Olympic Dam copper mine in South Australia before Monday, nearly two weeks after a massive outage forced it to shut down, power supplier ElectraNet said on Friday. SVG/HARBOURVEST: U.S. private equity firm HarbourVest Partners said it had extended its $1.35 billion offer for smaller rival SVG Capital SVI.L , even after the British firm accepted an offer for its investment portfolio from Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) GS.N and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. RIO TINTO: Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) RIO.AX is waiting for word on the Mongolian government's efforts to attract investment for railway and power infrastructure projects that will boost the global miner's Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine, Chief Executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said. DEUTSCHE BANK: Two leading hedge funds which made big bets on Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE shares falling are now reducing their "short" positions, in a sign of confidence in the stability of the lender. UK RETAILERS: Britain's fashion retailers endured a slump in sales in September as unseasonably warm weather deterred sales of autumn and winter collections, industry data showed on Friday. UK HIRING: British companies kept hiring staff last month after a brief lull around June's European Union membership referendum, but pay growth for temporary workers slowed, a monthly survey of recruitment agencies showed on Friday. STERLING: An outlying trade in sterling that created a fresh 31-year low for the currency on Friday has been cancelled, said Thomson Reuters, which owns the Reuters foreign exchange brokerage platform RTSL. BREXIT: French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday the EU needed to remain firm with Britain after it appeared that Prime Minister Theresa May had opted for a tougher exit from Europe. BREXIT: More than half the money donated to groups campaigning in Britain's EU membership referendum was given by 10 individuals or companies, according to research published on Friday, raising questions over the outsized influence of the wealthy on politics. BOE: Prime Minister Theresa May's comments on the distributional consequences of the Bank of England's low interest rate policy are not an attack on the central bank's independence, Governor Mark Carney said on Friday. AUSTRALIA MINING: Australia on Friday raised its 2016 average price forecasts for its two highest-grossing exports, iron ore and coal, citing a surprise upturn in demand from steelmakers in China. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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