(Updates futures, adds company news items)
Oct 4 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening down 4 to 8 points, or 0.1 percent on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures FFIc1 down 0.09 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* The UK blue chip index closed up 1.22 percent at 6983.52 points on Monday, helped by a drop in the sterling, as a weaker pound typically benefits the FTSE's export-driven, internationally focused companies. ASTRAZENECA: AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L said on Tuesday its heart drug Brilinta failed to show any benefit over an existing medicine in treating peripheral artery disease (PAD) in a large-scale clinical trial. RIO/BHP BILLITON: Mining giants Rio Tinto RIO.AX RIO.L and BHP Billiton BHP.AX BLT.L on Tuesday rebuffed proposals to replace one of the taxes they must pay on their iron ore businesses in the state of Western Australia with annual upfront payments. CARILLION: British support services firm Carillion CLLN.L said it had signed a seven-year contract to provide facilities management services to Britain's biggest customer-owned lender, Nationwide Building Society POB_p.L . ASTRZENECA: AstraZeneca Plc won the endorsement of the country's health-cost regulator for use of its Tagrisso medicine in some patients with an aggressive form of lung cancer after agreeing to offer the pill at a reduced price, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. http://bloom.bg/2dOhETP
* STERLING: Sterling slid towards a three-decade low against the dollar on Monday after British Prime Minister Theresa May set a March deadline for the formal departure process from the European Union to begin, sending UK shares to a 16-month high. BREXIT: The authorisation process for financial services firms wanting to set up in Ireland following Britain's vote to leave the European Union cannot be short circuited, a central bank official said on Monday. BREXIT: Auditing and corporate advisory firm PwC PWC.UL believes companies have overcome the initial shock of Britain's vote to leave the European Union and are getting on with preparing for the changes that lie ahead, the firm said on Tuesday. BREXIT: Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday it was important to set out the timing of Britain's exit from the European Union to reassure businesses after sterling plunged in the wake of her announcement of the deadline. CITI BANK UK: The UK head of U.S. bank Citi said on Monday that jobs in London's financial sector would move to countries inside the European Union after Britain leaves the bloc, regardless of what deal is struck on access to the EU financial services market. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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