(Adds company news items and futures) Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 22 points lower at 6,949, on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers, with FTSE 100 futures .FFIc1 down 0.21 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* KIER GROUP: Kier Group KIE.L said Chief Executive Haydn Mursell would leave with immediate effect, a month after a lacklustre share issue by the British builder that highlighted tough times for the construction sector. EASYJET: British budget airline easyJet EZJ.L said on Tuesday that drone disruption at London's Gatwick airport in December had cost it millions of pounds in lost operating revenue and additional costs. PETS AT HOME :Britain's Pets at Home Group Plc PETSP.L reported a 5.1 percent rise in quarterly like-for-like revenue, as more customers bought its pet products and used its grooming services. IG GROUP: IG Group Holdings Plc IGG.L reported a 17 percent slump in first-half profit on Tuesday, as stricter regulation kept clients away from the online financial trading company's platforms. DIXONS CARPHONE: Britain's Dixons Carphone DC.L maintained its profit guidance for the full year after it reported a small rise in underlying revenue over the key Christmas quarter. JUPITER ASSET: Jupiter Asset Management JUP.L has named Andrew Formica as its new chief executive, after veteran investor Maarten Slendebroek said he would resign the role on March 1. CLOSE BROTHERS: British lender Close Brothers Group CBRO.L said on Tuesday it expected a "solid outcome" for the first half driven by strength in its banking division, asset management divisions and trading activity at its market maker, Winterflood. RPC GROUP: Private equity company Apollo Global Management APO.N is in advanced talks to buy Europe's biggest plastics packaging maker RPC Group RPC.L for more than $3.8 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. EDDIE STOBART: Eddie Stobart Logistics ESLE.L is starting a rail service from the London port of Tilbury to Daventry, where major retailers, including Amazon AMZN.O have distribution centres, as uncertainty rises over Brexit. ACCROL: British tissue products supplier Accrol Group Holdings ACRL.L said on Monday that the UK financial watchdog had started an investigation into the company relating to statements it made in 2017. GOLD: Gold prices edged lower on Tuesday, hovering near three-week lows touched in the previous session, as a firmer dollar made bullion more expensive for buyers using other currencies, even as concerns about a global slowdown mounted. OIL: Oil prices fell on Tuesday as signs of a spreading global economic slowdown stoked concerns over future fuel demand. The UK blue chip index closed 0.03 percent up at 6970.59 on Monday, as industrials were comforted by Prime Minister Theresa May's presentation to parliament of her European Union divorce deal Plan B, even as a stronger pound weighed on the index. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/