(Adds company news items and futures)
March 18 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE is seen opening 17 points higher at 7,245 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers, while FTSE 100 futures .FFIc1 were up 0.29 percent ahead of the cash market open.
* JD: JD Sports Fashion Plc JD.L agreed to buy smaller rival Footasylum Plc FOOT.L for 90.1 million pounds ($119.63 million), nearly a month after the company raised its stake in the youth footwear and clothes seller to more than 18 percent. INTERSERVE: Interserve IRV.L , one of the British government's biggest contractors, was placed in administration late on Friday and immediately taken over by its lenders only hours after shareholders rejected a rescue plan for the debt-laden company. GOLD: Gold prices slipped on Monday, as gains in the equity markets dented the appeal of the precious metal ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting this week. OIL: Oil prices dipped on Monday amid concerns that an economic downturn may dent fuel consumption, but crude markets remain broadly supported by supply cuts led by producer group OPEC and U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela. The UK blue chip index closed 0.6 percent higher at 7228.28 on Friday, tracking a rally in sterling as talks between the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party and British ministers over Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal were described as "good". For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/
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