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Aug 16 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening down 14 points, or 0.2 percent lower, on Tuesday, according to spreadbetters, with futures FFIc1 down 0.5 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* The UK blue chip index closed 0.4 percent higher on Monday at 6941.19 points, touching a fresh 14-month high after oil stocks rallied, with Sage Group SGE.L recovering from an early fall after a data breach. BHP BILLITON: BHP Billiton BHP.AX BLT.L reported a record $6.4 billion annual loss on Tuesday, hammered by a bad bet on shale, a dam disaster in Brazil and a commodities slump, but said it expects its free cash flow to more than double this year. ANTOFAGASTA: Chilean copper miner Antofagasta ANTO.L lowered its full-year spending budget while reporting a 2.3 percent rise in first-half core profit helped by cost cuts. UNILEVER: Unilever ULVR.L plans to buy Sweden's Blueair, stepping into the air purification business, the company said on Tuesday. WOOD GROUP: Oilfield services company John Wood Group Plc WG.L reported a 26.3 percent fall in first-half core earnings, hurt by weak demand from oil and gas producers. VODAFONE: Spark New Zealand SPK.NZ said on Tuesday it was formally opposing a merger between Sky Network Television Ltd SKT.NZ and Vodafone Plc's VOD.L New Zealand unit, stating that Sky's monopoly on premium sports content rights in New Zealand is a key concern. CAIRN: Oil exploration company Cairn Energy Plc CNE.L raised its best estimate of reserves at its oilfields off the coast of Senegal by almost a third on Tuesday, following successful appraisal of the SNE-4 test well earlier this year. EU SPECTRUM LICENCE: The European Commission is to propose that telecom spectrum licences are granted for a minimum of 25 years to increase investment certainty for operators, under a reform of the bloc's telecoms rules, according to an EU document seen by Reuters. VOD.L BT.L BP: BP Plc BP.L is reportedly delaying planned U.S. Atlantis Field work in the Gulf of Mexico to early September from August, according to a trader at a U.S. bank who cited a Bloomberg report. MEARS: British outsourcing company Mears Group Plc MERG.L said its care division was expected to be close to breakeven this year, as it booked a one-off cost related to scaling back its presence in the challenging market. OIL: Oil prices edged away from 5-week highs on Tuesday, with traders cashing in on a 16-percent rally since early August that has largely been fuelled by talk of producers taking action to prop up the market. LCOc1 CLc1 GOLD: Spot gold XAU= was up about 0.6 percent at $1,346.31 an ounce at 0348 GMT. The metal rose 0.2 percent on Monday. O/R
* COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper CMCU3 traded flat at $4,768.50 a tonne by 0117 GMT, having closed a tad firmer on Monday. The metal touched a one-month low of $4,750.50 on Friday. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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