(Adds company news items and futures)
Jan 9 - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 75 points higher at 6,936 on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, with futures up 0.67 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* SAINSBURY: Sainsbury's SBRY.L , Britain's No. 2 supermarket group that is battling to take over No. 3 Asda WMT.N , reported a worse-than-expected fall in underlying sales in the key Christmas quarter, hurt by poor demand for general merchandise. TAYLOR WIMPEY: Britain's third-largest builder Taylor Wimpey Plc TW.L said the indicators for 2019 sales were solid after guiding it would report 2018 results in line with expectations following a 3 percent increase in the number of homes it built. TED BAKER: British fashion retailer Ted Baker Plc TED.L reported higher retail sales in the holiday period, helped by a surge in online demand and said an investigation into reports related to the conduct of its founder were progressing. MOTHERCARE: Mothercare Plc's MTC.L third-quarter group sales slipped 18 percent on lower online sales of baby products and fewer discounts, which led to a double digit dip in UK like-for-like revenue. GREGGS: British baker Greggs Plc GRG.L nudged up its 2018 profit forecast to at least 88 million pounds ($112 million) after a "very strong" finish to the year driven by demand for its festive bakes, mince pies, hot drinks and breakfast items.
* INTERNATIONAL CONSOLIDATED AIRLINES: Brussels has warned British Airways owner IAG ICAG.L that its favoured strategy to allow it to continue flying freely in and around Europe in the event of a no-deal Brexit will not work, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. FAROE PETROLEUM: Norwegian oil company DNO ASA DNO.OL said on Tuesday it raised its cash offer for Faroe Petroleum Plc FPM.L to 641.7 million pounds ($816.1 million), after the British firm rebuffed its acquisition offer earlier. BP PLC: BP BP.L said it has discovered two new oilfields in the Gulf of Mexico and has identified an additional billion barrels of oil at an existing field thanks to new seismic technology. SERCO/ MEARS: Serco SRP.L and Mears MERG.L have won contracts totalling 2.9 billion pounds from the British government to provide accommodation and support for asylum seekers, lifting shares in both outsourcing firms. GOLD: Gold prices held steady on Wednesday as a potential close to a months-long Sino-U.S. trade war lifted risk sentiment, countering expectations that the Fed would pause interest rate increases for this year. OIL: Oil prices rose on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session, on hopes that Washington and Beijing can resolve a trade dispute that has triggered a global economic slowdown. The UK blue chip index closed 0.7 percent higher at 6861.60 on Tuesday, amid hopes of a U.S.-China trade deal and as supermarket chain Tesco (LON:TSCO) led a revival in retailers after upbeat sales data that helped offset Morrisons' disappointing holiday update. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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