Feb 4 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening up 27 points, or 0.4 percent, on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on The UK blue chip index closed 84.87 points lower on Wednesday at 5837.14, pulled lower by financial stocks, with banks hitting their lowest levels in over 4 years and Hargreaves Lansdown HRGV.L among the top losers following a mixed earnings update. SSE: British power producer SSE SSE.L said it would likely close most of the units at its 1,995-megawatt Fiddler's Ferry coal-fired plant from April 1, despite gaining a government capacity contract designed to incentivise back-up plants to stay online. SPORTS DIRECT: The company SPD.L has backed down from its legal battle with Rangers football club and abandoned efforts to prevent disclosure of the pair's joint venture, which has made the Old Firm club about 4 pence from every pound spent in its Ibrox store, the Guardian reported. OIL: Crude oil futures extended gains from the previous session on Thursday, as a weaker dollar and unconfirmed talk of producers potentially meeting to discuss output cuts lifted the market despite record U.S. stocks. COPPER: London copper rose for second day to the most in a month as a falling U.S. dollar spurred interest in commodities, including oil, that prompted investors shorting the market to close their positions ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. EX-DIVS: Imperial Tobacco IMT.L and Unilever ULVR.L will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 2.91 points off the FTSE 100, according to Reuters calculations UK CORPORATE DIARY:
Shell RDSa.L
FY results AstraZeneca AZN.L
FY results Smith & Nephew SN.L
FY results Compass Group CPG.L
Q1 trading update Vodafone Group VOD.L
Q3 trading update Beazley BEZG.L
FY results
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