(Adds futures, news items)
May 28 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index .FTSE is seen opening 42 points higher on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 rising 1.2%.
* EASYJET: easyJet EZJ.L said it planned to cut up to 30% of its staff, or 4,500 jobs, and shrink its fleet, to fit the smaller market it expects to emerge from the collapse in air travel due to COVID-19. CINEWORLD: British cinema operator Cineworld CINE.L said it secured an additional $110 million from lenders and a waiver on loan covenants as the company looks to reopen all its cinemas in July. GLAXOSMITHKLINE: British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc GSK.L will expand production of vaccine efficacy boosters, or adjuvants, to produce 1 billion doses in 2021 for use in shots for COVID-19, the company said.
* DMGT: Daily Mail owner DMGT DMGOa.L said its consumer media, property information and events businesses were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in March, the final month of its first half, as it reported flat revenue and a 20% drop in pretax profit.
* ASTRAZENECA: AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L is testing one of its diabetes drugs as a treatment for COVID-19. HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE: An international hydroxychloroquine trial led by the University of Oxford has been paused, Britain's pharmaceutical regulator said on Wednesday. GOLD: Gold edged up after hitting a two-week low in the previous session as the rift between Washington and Beijing over Hong Kong escalated. METALS: London copper prices rose, buoyed by hopes of improving demand for the red metal amid more stimulus measures. London-listed stocks notched up their strongest close since early March on Wednesday amid sustained hopes of an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/
TODAY'S UK PAPERS
> Financial Times
PRESS/FT
> Other business headlines
PRESS/GB